The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3140) Private John Tabner, 33rd 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 (3140) Private John Tabner, 33rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

3140 Private John Tabner, 33rd Battalion, AIF
DOW 19 October 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Tabner.

John Tabner was born in 1875 to Thomas and Hannah Tabner of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England. His father was a coal miner, and his mother worked as a weaver at a cotton mill. John was the oldest son, and was apprenticed as an iron turner in his early teens, while his older sisters went into the cotton mill like their mother. Hannah Tabner died when John was 25, and he lived with his father and oldest sister until he married Emma Walton on 1 June, 1901. They went on to have a son followed by two daughters, and John continued to work as an iron turner.

The Tabner family came to Australia around 1912 and moved to Kurri Kurri near Maitland in New South Wales, where John took up work as a miner. War broke out two years later, but John was initially ineligible for service due to his age. As enlistment standards relaxed, he successfully enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in October 1916. Emma Tabner remained in Kurri Kurri, where she was a “very active worker in the Red Cross Society” for the duration of the war.

Private John Tabner began training in Australia and left for active service overseas in January 1917 on board the troopship Anchises. Assigned to the 33rd Battalion, he continued training on Salisbury Plain for several months before joining his battalion on the battlefields of the Western Front in August 1917.

On 12 October 1917 the 33rd Battalion took part in the battle of Passchendaele. Initially in reserve, the battalion began taking casualties from German shellfire almost as soon as the attack went ahead. They were soon drawn into the fight, and by the end of the day had established a new advanced position.

Some days after the attack at Passchendaele, while on his way back to the front line, Private John Tabner was struck by German artillery. He was rendered unconscious immediately, and those coming up behind him thought he had been killed. They went on, but he was found to be alive by some stretcher bearers and was taken to a nearby casualty clearing station in a critical condition with severe wounds in his neck.

John Tabner died in the casualty clearing station not long after his arrival. He was buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, where he lies today under the words “sadly missed”. He was 42 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 Tabner, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section