The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Captain Stewart Milson, 4th 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 Captain Stewart Milson, 4th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

Captain Stewart Milson, 4th Battalion, AIF
KIA 6 August 1915


Today we remember and pay tribute to Captain Stewart Milson.

Stewart Milson was born on the 22nd of June 1887 in Peak Down, Queensland. Known as “Sammy”, he was one of three children born to businessman Arthur Milson and his wife Eustatia.

The Milson family later moved to Sydney, where Stewart received his education at the Kings School in Parramatta and was an active member of the school cadets. On completion of his education, he gained employment with woolbrokers and merchants Messrs Dalgety and Co. He also joined the New South Wales Scottish Rifles, rising to the rank of captain, and became Vice-Commodore of the Royal Sydney Yachting Club. He later moved to the country, becoming a station manager on a large property near the town of Hay.

When war broke out in 1914, Stewart Milson was among the first men to enlist, joining the Australian Imperial Force on 27 August. He was assigned to E Company of the 4th Battalion and proceeded to camp for training. He was commissioned as a captain in late September and embarked for active service from Sydney on 20 October, sailing on board the troopship Euripides.

Captain Milson and his comrades arrived in Egypt in early December, and commenced further training. In the new year, preparations to land on the Gallipoli peninsula began in earnest. Milson wrote to his mother from camp saying:

“Last week we marched away about ten miles up the Nile with everything packed as if we were going away… we had a pretty strenuous time I can tell you. We finished up by doing a night march and attacking a hill at about 6am … I slept for about 15 hours straight after”.

Two months later, his unit formed part of the second and third waves which landed on the shores of Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. After spending a day on the beaches of Anzac Cove, Captain Milson was wounded in the shoulder by enemy fire. He was returned to Alexandria, spending a month in hospital before returning to duty on 26 May 1915. He spent the months which followed establishing the front line with his unit, and repulsing regular raids from the enemy.

By this stage of the war, a stalemate had developed, with the allies maintaining a light grip on their positions. In August 1915, plans for a major offensive to break the stalemate were put into action. Milson’s division was set to attack Turkish positions at Lone Pine in order to divert enemy troops away from a major attack near Hill 971. At 4:30 pm on 6 August, Milson and his comrades in the 4th Battalion jumped the parapet and charged towards the Turkish trenches.

On reaching their enemy, they were confronted with well defended trenches which had been covered by pine logs. Forced to break through the logs, or continue to the communication trenches, advancing troops were drawn into hand to hand combat. Four days of brutal fighting ensued as the Australians fought to hold their position, and as the Turkish troops fought to push them back.

By the time the ill-fated battle was abandoned, Australian casualties numbered over 2,200 killed, missing or wounded. Among the dead was Captain Stewart Milson, who had been fatally shot while leading his men near Owen’s Gully. Charles Bean, Australia’s official historian of the First World War, later stated that Milson was one of the “most gallant and admired leaders in the Battalion.”

Stewart Milson was 28 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 Captain Stewart Milson, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section