The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (6276a) Lance Corporal Leo Charles Dineen, 28th 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 , the story for this day was on (6276a) Lance Corporal Leo Charles Dineen, 28th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

6276a Lance Corporal Leo Charles Dineen, 28th Battalion, AIF
KIA 24 April 1918


Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Leo Charles Dineen.

Leo Dineen, known as “Charlie” was born in 1880, the eldest son of John and Emily Dineen, of Tibooburra. His father was a storekeeper, a good natured man who held other public positions in Tibooburra, including “Postmaster, Cobb & Co’s agent, secretary to the Jockey Club [and] trustee of the school and cemetery.” Charlie’s father died when he was nine years old, leaving the family poorly provided for. Nevertheless, his mother was able to ensure her son had a good education, sending him to the Darling Road School in Balmain. She married W.J. Kelly towards the end of the century, and around 1895 moved to Nannine, near Geraldton in Western Australia. After completing his education, Charlie Dineen undertook a seven-year apprenticeship with the Townsend Company in Sydney, becoming a master printer. In 1900 he married Margaret Smellie, and that year their son Alexander was born.

After completing his apprenticeship, Charlie Dineen moved his family to Cue in Western Australia where he became the printer and “right-hand mechanical man” on the Murchison Advocate. He also ran the stationery and fancy goods shop in town, filling his spare time with the local Druid’s Lodge and in voluntary municipal affairs. He met Arthur Rock, and the two moved to Geraldton to establish a printing company. In February 1915 his daughter Jessie was born.

For some time after the outbreak of war in 1914 Charlie Dineen had been anxious to enlist. However, the responsibilities of running his business and the birth of his daughter delayed him. He spent months making arrangements to go, finally feeling able to do so in June 1916. Dineen entered Blackboy Camp, where he began his military training, returning to Geraldton for a final period of leave in December 1916. The local newspaper reported that Charlie was “looking well, and has distinctly improved in physique. Always a hefty young fellow for his size, he now appears able to deal it out effectually with the best of the [German Army].”

Private Charlie Dineen left Fremantle on 23 December 1916 on board the troopship Berrima as part of a group of reinforcements to the 27th Battalion. He underwent further training on Salisbury Plain after arriving in England, qualifying first class from the School of Musketry at Tidworth, and noted as having “a fair working knowledge of the Lewis Gun”. In June 1917 he was sent to France. The day after he arrived, he wrote to his business partner, Arthur Rock, “all the West Australians with the reinforcement were claimed by the 28th. Of course we were all pleased to get in a battalion from our own state.”

Dineen was particularly struck by the devastation of the landscape in France, writing to Arthur that “you could not imagine the havoc wrought by the war, hundreds of towns and villages nothing but a heap of bricks; you would have to see to believe. In Bapaume … I am not exaggerating when I say there is not one single, solitary sound house standing. For miles and miles the country is honeycombed with shell holes.”

After joining the 28th Battalion, Dineen became good friends with the Roman Catholic Chaplain, Edward Barry. Barry prepared him for any eventuality by hearing his confession and giving him communion, and Dineen became a regular attendee of church parades. Barry described him as “an exemplary chap in every way, and I know of few soldiers who gained so deeply the respect and esteem of officers and men alike. I regard him as one of my greatest friends”.

Dineen was with the 28th Battalion as it participated in most of the Australian battles of late 1917. Over the winter the battalion sent raiding parties into no man’s land, and it was then drawn into the desperate fight to slow the enemy’s advance after the Germans launched their great offensive in early 1918. Dineen proved an able soldier, having been promoted to lance corporal in September 1917. He wrote to Arthur Rock to say, “War now you know, Arthur, is nothing short of hell. I went through those big Ypres offensives without a scratch, but often look back and think how lucky I am to be alive.”

Arthur Rock received that letter about two weeks after he was notified that Charlie Dineen had been killed in action. On 24 April 1918 the 28th Battalion was in reserve not far from Villers-Bretonneux. In the early hours of the morning the Australian artillery put down a heavy barrage on German positions. The German artillery fired back in retaliation with high explosives and gas. During this bombardment, a shell fragment struck Lance Corporal Charlie Dineen in the throat, killing him instantly. He was buried nearby, and today he lies in the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension on the Somme. He was 37 years old.

Charlie Dineen’s 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 Lance Corporal Leo Charles Dineen, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section