The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX24799) Private Harry Raymond Allen, 2/21st 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (VX24799) Private Harry Raymond Allen, 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

VX24799 Private Harry Raymond Allen, 2/21st Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA 15 February 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Harry Raymond Allen.

Harry Allen was born on 20 May 1907, the youngest son of Frank and Jessie Allen of the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra.

Harry grew up to work as a painter and decorator, living in the Melbourne suburb of Windsor.

His elder brother, William Ernest Francis Allen, had served with the 58th Battalion during the First World War, losing his life in France on 26 March 1917.

After the announcement of Australia’s involvement in the Second World War, Harry Allen followed in his brother’s footsteps, enlisting in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 29 May 1940.

After a period of training in Shepparton, in July Private Allen was posted to the newly formed 2/21st Battalion. The 2/21st Battalion was formed with Victorian recruits, around half of whom were from Melbourne.

The battalion trained at Trawool until late September, when it began to move to Bonegilla near the New South Wales–Victoria border. Training soon resumed and occupied the battalion until March 1941, when it began to move to Darwin in the Northern Territory. It had been earmarked to reinforce Dutch troops on the island of Ambon in the event of a Japanese attack. Although military sense dictated the battalion should be deployed as early as possible, to prepare defences and train in the conditions in which it would fight, it was thought that a premature deployment might provoke Japanese action. So the battalion would be held in Darwin until Japan's intentions became clear.

The 2/21st began arriving at Darwin in early April. Its nine-month stay was not a happy one, and the primitive amenities, isolation, and mundane garrison duties lowered morale. Training continued but was hindered by a shortage of equipment, supplies, and ammunition.

On 8 December news of long-expected Japanese attacks arrived, and five days later the battalion was on its way to Ambon to join other supporting troops to form Gull Force.

With a combined strength of 1,100 men, Gull Force joined some 2,600 men of Netherlands East Indies forces on Ambon, and was tasked with defending the Bay of Ambon and the airfields at Laha and Liang.

Gull Force’s commanding officer believed that Ambon was unable to be defended with such a small force, and urgently requested reinforcement. He was relieved of his command, and replaced by Lieutenant Colonel John Scott in mid-January 1942. Just before the Japanese landings, Scott altered the location of many of his defensive positions, leaving the battalion being less prepared to repel the invasion.

Japanese landing forces began arriving at Ambon on 30 January. By the following afternoon Dutch forces had surrendered. Grossly outnumbered and lacking air or naval support, the 2/21st Battalion was unable to prevent the advance, and was pushed to the far west of the peninsula.

Around 150 Australian soldiers and some Indonesians and Dutch were captured, and many were later massacred following a major Japanese offensive in early February. The remainder of the battalion surrendered the following day and was interned in their former barracks.

The survivors went into captivity as prisoners of war for the remainder of the conflict. Their conditions were poor, and they suffered the highest death rate of any group of Australian prisoners of war during the Second World War.

Private Harry Allen was initially listed as missing, believed killed. But without his body as proof, his family had no evidence of his fate.

When Australian troops reoccupied Ambon in September 1945, they discovered mass graves containing Australian bodies. Indonesian and Japanese witnesses supplied some details of their massacre. More than 200 of the men who surrendered at Laha airfield on Ambon had been killed in four separate massacres around the airfield. They were bayoneted, clubbed to death or beheaded. Not one of them survived.

Among their number was Harry Allen, who had been executed on 15 February 1942.

Today he is commemorated at Ambon Memorial, one of approximately 440 casualties from the Second World War.

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 Harry Raymond Allen, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section