The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (570) Company Sergeant Major Lawrence Gladstone Lowth, 41st 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 (570) Company Sergeant Major Lawrence Gladstone Lowth, 41st Battalion, AIF, First World War.

570 Company Sergeant Major Lawrence Gladstone Lowth, 41st Battalion, AIF
KIA 1 September 1918
Photograph E01521

Today we remember and pay tribute to Company Sergeant Major Lawrence Gladstone Lowth.

Lawrence Lowth was born around 1893 in Townsville, part of the large family of Thomas and Margaret Lowth.

Lawrence’s Irish-born father, Thomas, had arrived in Australia as a young man, joining the police force in Brisbane and going on to have a career as a detective before establishing Lowth’s Hotel in Townsville. Thomas Lowth became a prominent and well known member of the Townsville community, and was an alderman for well over a decade.

Young Lawrence attended St Joseph’s College, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, before finding work as a hardware salesman.

In October 1915, Lawrence Lowth enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Townsville. He was eventually allotted to the 41st Battalion, which was raised in Brisbane in February 1916 with recruits from Brisbane, northern Queensland, and the northern rivers district of New South Wales.

After some initial training, on the 16th of May 1916 the battalion embarked at Sydney on the troopship Demosthenes [pron. Demmos – then – ees], bound for the conflict in Europe.

Landing in England in July, the men of the 41st Battalion continued their training on Salisbury [pron. Sauls – bree] Plain before arriving in France in late November. They entered the front line for the first time on Christmas Eve 1916, and spent the bleak winter alternating between service in the front line, and training and labouring in the rear areas.

Lowth showed leadership potential and by early February 1917 had been promoted to sergeant. In early June 1917 the battalion had its first experience of major conflict when it played a supporting role at the battle of Messines [pron. Mess – een].

Towards the end of the month, Lowth was detached to reinforcement’s camp, where he would have been training battalion reinforcements, preparing them for the gruelling trench warfare ahead.

He returned to his unit on the 10th of August 1917, but in late September was posted to the 11th Training Battalion, where he used his experience training reinforcements in drilling fresh recruits. In November he transferred to the 9th Training Battalion.

At the end of 1917, Sergeant Lowth prepared to return to the fighting on the Western Front. He re-joined his unit on the 2nd of January 1918 as it was resting and refitting in northern France. When the German Army launched its last great offensive in March 1918, the battalion was rushed south where it played a role in blunting its drive towards the vital railway junction of Amiens [pron. Am – yen].

On the 3rd of June, the battalion was in the line and was subjected to continuous bombardment which destroyed their front line on the right and left. The bombardment continued overnight and into the following day, and the rear areas were subjected to gas shells.

Lowth was admitted to a field ambulance suffering the effects of the gassing, and after initial treatment was sent to a convalescence hospital in Rouen [pron. Roo – arn].

He was back with the battalion less than a week later, and in early August was promoted to company sergeant major: the highest-rank of a non-commissioned officer of an infantry company.

The Allies launched their own offensive in early August 1918, pushing back against the gains made during the German Spring Offensive. The 41st battalion played an active role in the initial attack and the long advance that followed throughout August.

With the German front line broken, battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line.

On the morning of the 1st of September 1918, the 41st Battalion assaulted German lines, following behind a rolling barrage of artillery fire that had begun at around 6 am. The barrage wasn’t as effective as expected, and as heavy fighting began, it became apparent that the enemy machine-guns had not been silenced as had been anticipated. The battalion’s commanding officer described the machine-gun fire as “the greatest we have ever experienced”, and casualties were heavy. The volume of machine-gun fire prevented the removal of the wounded from front lines, and there were reports of Germans firing on stretcher bearers.

While the assault eventually met with success, the cost was high. Among the dead was Company Sergeant Major Lawrence Lowth, who was just 25 years old.

Initially buried near where he fell, his remains were later reburied at Hem Farm Military Cemetery, where they lie today under the inscription chosen by his grieving family: “Sacred to his memory”.

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.

His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial.

We now remember Company Sergeant Major Lawrence Gladstone Lowth, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.