The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (798) Driver Edgar James Clarence Cheney, 3rd Army Service Corps Company, 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 Melaine Cassar, the story for this day was on (798) Driver Edgar James Clarence Cheney, 3rd Army Service Corps Company, First World War.

798 Driver Edgar James Clarence Cheney, 3rd Army Service Corps Company
DOD 1 March 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Driver Edgar James Clarence Cheney.]
Edgar Cheney was born on 30 September 1893, the youngest son of Samuel and Mary Ann Cheney of North Adelaide. His father was in his 50s when Edgar was born, and died in 1906, shortly after Edgar’s 13th birthday. Edgar was educated at the Nailsworth public school, and went on to undertake a printing apprenticeship before working as a labourer. He was described as a “true sportsman” and was a member of the St Ninian’s Cricket Club and the Prospect Football Club.

Edgar Cheney enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force just weeks after the outbreak of war in August 1914. He enlisted at Morphettville in South Australia but was posted to the Army Service Corps and sent to Victoria to complete his training. He left South Australia for Melbourne on his 21st birthday, and after completing his training there, sailed for Egypt on the troopship Benalla in October 1915.

The Army Service Corps was involved in the transport and supply of a wide variety of things including food, water, and mail. Edgar Cheney was a member of the 3rd Company of the Divisional Train, and held the rank of driver, probably working with a team of horses in the transport of supplies. As soon as it arrived in Egypt, the Army Supply Corps was engaged in the transport of men and supplies between camps in Alexandria, Mena and Ismailia.

In early April 1915 Cheney’s company transferred to the island of Lemnos, and began preparing for a landing on Gallipoli. The service companies were largely split up over the following month. The men were posted among Egypt, Lemnos, the sea transports and Gallipoli in order to ensure a consistent supply chain was established and maintained throughout the campaign.

Only the briefest hints of the role Driver Cheney played in the Gallipoli campaign remain in his service record. In July 1916 he was on board the troopship Novian when he was awarded 14 days’ detention for refusing to obey the order of an officer. Members of the Service Corps could remain on sea transports for days or weeks in the execution of their duties in maintaining supply, and the Novian could have been an extended home for Cheney. By November 1915 he was back in Alexandria when he was diagnosed with venereal disease, and spent the end of the year in hospital receiving treatment.

Driver Cheney was fit to return to duty in late January 1916 after two months in hospital. However, within six weeks he would fall ill again, this time with heart disease and rheumatism. His condition worsened over the next two weeks, and he died in the 15th General Hospital in Alexandria on 1 March 1916.

Edgar Cheney was buried in the Chatby Military Cemetery in Alexandria, where he lies today under the words “farewell, dear son and brother, true and brave till we meet again – mother.” He was 22 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 Driver Edgar James Clarence Cheney, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section