The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2331) Private John Gardiner, 22nd Battalion, AIF, First 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 Emily Hyles, the story for this day was on (2331) Private John Gardiner, 22nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2331 Private John Gardiner, 22nd Battalion, AIF
KIA 27 July 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Gardiner.

John Gardiner was born in 1897 to John and Elizabeth Gardiner of Woolsthorpe, Victoria. His father had been born in nearby Caramut, but had moved to Woolsthorpe as a young man. John Gardiner junior was educated in Woolsthorpe, and went on to work as a labourer in the district. He was known as a “fine, promising young man,” who had “many friends in the district, and all admired the young man for his manly and sterling qualities”.

John Gardiner enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915, about a month after his 18th birthday. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service with reinforcements to the 22nd Battalion in September 1915.

It is not clear whether or not Private John Gardiner served on Gallipoli, although it seems likely that he was there in the dying weeks of the campaign. He arrived in Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt in early January 1916, and continued training in the desert while the AIF underwent a period of expansion and reorganisation. He was sent on to France to fight on the Western Front in March 1916.

Private Gardiner had his first experience of conditions in the front line near Fleurbaix in the first week of April 1916. However, time in that quieter sector did little to prepare the men of the 22nd Battalion for their first major battle, which came at Pozieres in late July 1916.

On 25 July 1916, battalions of the 1st and 3rd Brigades attacked and captured the fortified village of Pozieres. Two days later, in the early hours of the morning, the 22nd Battalion relieved the 6th Battalion in the front line. Within two hours of the relief, the 22nd Battalion came under intense enemy artillery fire – so intense that in some places the raining shells blew trench systems flat. Reports were constantly coming in that German counter-attacks were imminent, and a great deal of work had to be undertaken to strengthen the front line.

At some point during that first day under the intense artillery fire of Pozieres, Private John Gardiner was killed in action. His company commander, Captain Wiltshire, later wrote to John’s father in Woolthorpe, saying, “Your son was a member of my company and was killed in action in the heavy fighting beyond Pozieres. He was a good lad and always bore hardship and discomforts cheerfully and without complaint, and he will be much missed by the officers and men of the Company. We hope that the fact that he died a soldier’s death, fighting bravely in a victorious battle, will be of comfort to you and your family.”

His body was never recovered, and today he is commemorated on the Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. He was 19 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First 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 John Gardiner, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section