The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX43892) Captain Ronald Charles Cromie, 2/23rd Australian Infantry Battalion,AIF, Second 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 (VX43892) Captain Ronald Charles Cromie, 2/23rd Australian Infantry Battalion,AIF, Second World War.

VX43892 Captain Ronald Charles Cromie, 2/23rd Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA: 22 July 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Captain Ronald Charles Cromie.

Ronald Cromie was born on 25 March 1914 in Rupanyup, Victoria. Known as Ron, he was one of five children born to local farmer William Cromie and his wife Jeanette. Ron received his education at Scotch College in Melbourne and later returned to Rupanyup, were he became a wheat farmer. He also went on to join the Militia, serving part-time with an armoured car regiment.

Ron Cromie enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Melbourne on 3 July 1940. He was assigned to the 26th Anti-Tank Company and began training at the army camp at Caulfield. After further training at Albury and Bendigo, at the beginning of July he was granted a commission and promoted to lieutenant before being seconded for staff duties. On 14 September, he married Lesley McMullin in the Littlejohn Memorial Chapel at his former school, Scotch College. A month later, he embarked for active service from Sydney on board the troopship Orion.

Lieutenant Cromie arrived at Haifa in Palestine with his unit in December. After travelling by train to camp at Dimra in Palestine and joining other units in their brigade, Cromie’s company continued training until January 1941, when it moved to the port town of Tobruk. They joined the thousands of Australian soldiers besieged by the enemy for over eight months, attached to a number of different infantry battalions during the siege, fighting to prevent an enemy breakthrough.

On 30 May, Cromie was wounded by shrapnel from an enemy mortar and was removed from the front lines for treatment. He spent a number of days in hospital at Tobruk before being evacuated to the 2nd Australian General Hospital at Kantara, Egypt. After receiving treatment for his wounds, Cromie was moved to an officer’s convalescent hotel to recover. Before returning to active service, Cromie was transferred to the 2/23rd Infantry Battalion in September 1941 and promoted to captain. He was then seconded to his old unit, the 26th Anti-Tank Company, with which he remained until early 1942. He attended anti-tank and artillery training courses before returning to the 2/23rd Battalion in March.

By then, Axis forces had begun a decisive sweep into Egypt, placing them within reach of Alexandria, Cairo and the Suez Canal. Their advance was halted by Allied troops at the small railway stop of El Alamein where a stalemate ensued as the allies attempted to push back the enemy. The 2/23rd was rushed from Syria to the vicinity of El Alamein to defend the northern sector.

On 22 July, Cromie’s battalion was ordered to capture a section of the high ground known as Point 24. Cromie was the commanding officer for C Company, which was the first to advance on the morning of the attack. Fierce fighting resulted, and visibility was reduced to almost nothing. Members of C and D companies attempted to dig in, suffering heavy casualties under intensified shelling. By 8 am, a German counter-attack had developed, opening fire on Point 24 with machine-guns and mortars when Allied companies were within 100 yards of their objective. During this counter attack Captain Ron Cromie was hit by enemy machine-gun fire and killed.

The enemy continued shelling Point 24 for the rest of the day, after which Cromie’s body was recovered from the battlefield. He was buried at the nearby El Alamein War Cemetery. His wife later posted a memorial notice in the newspaper which read: “Sunshine passes, shadows fall, love and remembrance outlast all.”

Captain Ron Cromie was 28 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Captain Ronald Charles Cromie, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section