The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (N263927) Private Arthur Lovell Lega, 55/53rd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (N263927) Private Arthur Lovell Lega, 55/53rd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

N263927 Private Arthur Lovell Lega, 55/53rd Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA 19 December 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Arthur Lovell Lega.

Arthur Lega was born on 13 October 1923 in Bulli, a suburb of Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales, the son of Lena and Joseph Lega.

After attending Woonona Public School in Wollongong, Arthur and his family moved to Redfern in Sydney, where Arthur worked as a press operator.

Arthur Lega joined the Citizen Military Force in Sydney on the 6th of January 1942, just three months after turning 18. The Australian Citizen Military Force (also known as the Militia and the Citizen Military Forces) was distinct from the volunteer Australian Imperial Force. Members of the Militia could not serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to do so.

Before Lega joined the 55th Battalion, it had been merged with the 53rd Battalion, forming the 55/53rd Infantry Battalion. The battalions had been separated in October 1941, and had taken part in the Kokoda Track campaign separately.

Lega travelled from New South Wales, via Queensland, to Port Moresby, arriving in late May. While Lega’s 55th Battalion developed a good reputation, the 53rd had been poorly prepared and had not performed well. Stigma was attached to their performance, and they were later described as “the mob”.

As fighting on the Kokoda Track wound down in late 1942 the 55th and 53rd battalions were amalgamated once more.

In early December 1942, the reformed 55/53rd Battalion was sent to the Sanananda Track, having marched from Popondetta.

Situated between Buna and Gona on the northern coast, Sanananda was an uninviting area: the centre of the main Japanese defensive position.

Unlike Buna and Gona, where defences were mainly on the coast, in this central sector, the defences were placed along the Sanananda Track. Japanese positions astride the track were protected by camouflaged bunkers made of logs placed in depth behind each other. AIF units had conducted a series of determined attacks, but could not eject the Japanese.

As the men threw themselves into attacks against these well-concealed Japanese positions, lives were lost.

On the 7th of December the 55/53rd Battalion dispatched a single company to launch a diversionary attack, while the rest of the battalion supported the 49th Battalion’s attack at Sanananda. Coming up against strong defensive positions, the Australians were beaten back and the 55/53rd suffered 130 casualties.

Over the next week the battalion probed the Japanese perimeter before launching a second attack on 19 of December, which saw them suffer another 108 casualties
Among the dead was Arthur Lega, who was initially reported as missing, before being confirmed as killed in action on 19 December 1942.

He was 19 years old.

His body could not be recovered for burial, and today he is remembered at the Port Moresby Memorial, which commemorates over 700 officers and men of the Australian Army, the Australian Merchant Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, who gave their lives during the operations in Papua and who have no known grave.
His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Arthur Lovell Lega, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section