The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (332) Private Herbert Edwin Macbeth, 1st Australian Machine Gun 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 Emily Hyles, the story for this day was on (332) Private Herbert Edwin Macbeth, 1st Australian Machine Gun Company, First World War.

332 Private Herbert Edwin Macbeth, 1st Australian Machine Gun Company
DOW 6 April 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Herbert Edwin Macbeth.

Herbert Macbeth was born in May 1884 in the Sydney suburb of Paddington, one of ten children born to boat builder William Macbeth and his wife Louisa. He received his education at the nearby Summer Hill Public School and later served in the Militia. At the outbreak of the war in 1914, he was working as a builder in Sydney.

Macbeth enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 4 March 1916. He was assigned to the 1st Australian Machine Gun Company and began a short period of training in Australia. On 16 August 1916 he embarked with the 3rd Reinforcements from Sydney on board the troopship Orontes.

Private Macbeth arrived in England in early October 1916. He was initially sent to Tidworth Camp for further training and then onto camp at Grantham. Later that month, he was granted four days leave, which he spent in London. He was briefly promoted to corporal in November, but reverted to private ahead of his embarkation to the front. Macbeth joined his unit on 20 February 1917 in the Somme region of France.

At this point in time a major development had taken place on the Somme. The Germans had begun abandoning their positions and pulling back several miles to the much stronger Hindenburg Line. After more than two years of stalemate, the allies were on the move, pursuing the enemy as they fell back. As part of a heavy machine-gun company, Macbeth and his comrades were responsible for covering the infantry with supporting fire as they advanced on enemy rearguards nearing the Hindenburg Line.

At about midnight on 5 April 1917, Macbeth left the front lines on fatigue duty to carry ammunition supplies to the line near the French village of Doignies. Returning to take a second load of ammunition, a 5.9 inch shell landed in his path and exploded. A piece of shrapnel hit him in the neck, killing him instantly. His comrades buried him behind the village four days later, marking the place with a rifle and hat with his name on a piece of paper.

Macbeth’s family received several conflicting reports of his fate. A family friend wrote to the Red Cross to ask for more definite information: “I’m taking the liberty of writing to ask you for help in getting some information concerning a friend of mine,” she wrote. “Something tells me to write to you, as, though we have every reason to believe he is dead, I am not satisfied to accept that and for the sake of his mother and family also, who are quite crushed, I am trying to find out all I can.”

Further enquiries made by the Red Cross confirmed the news that Private Macbeth had died of wounds on 6 April 1917. He was remembered by his friends and comrades as “a real good chap” who was highly respected by all. His final resting place was lost during subsequent fighting in the region. Today, he is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial among more than 10,000 Australians soldiers who have no known grave.

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 Herbert Edwin Macbeth, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section