The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1432) Sergeant Alfred Lachlan Jack, 14th Australian Infantry 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 (1432) Sergeant Alfred Lachlan Jack, 14th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1432 Sergeant Alfred Lachlan Jack, 14th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF
KIA 28th August 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Alfred Lachlan Jack.

Alfred Jack was born in 1881 in Christchurch, New Zealand, the son of Thomas Jack, a boilermaker from Scotland, and his wife Catherine. Alfred was educated in Christchurch and undertook an apprenticeship as a carpenter. After completing his training, he became a cabinetmaker and married Ethel Priest. The couple settled in Upper Hutt, near Wellington, and had two children: Alfred Percival and Muriel. Ethel died during the birth of their second child, leaving Alfred a widower. After his wife’s death, Jack moved his family to Australia, where they settled in Melbourne.

Alfred Jack was among some the first to join the Australian Imperial Force, enlisting on 22 October 1914. On enlistment, he placed his children in a Presbyterian care home. He was allocated to the 14th Battalion before spending two months training at Broadmeadows Camp in Victoria. Private Jack embarked on 22 December 1914 on board the troopship Berrima.

During the journey, he was promoted to corporal. Reaching Egypt in January 1915, Jack’s battalion joined the New Zealand and Australian Division which would later become known as the Anzacs. Jack took part in the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, marking the beginning of an eight-month long campaign aimed at taking control of the strategic waterway known as the Dardanelles.

Over the following months, Jack’s battalion was involved in consolidating and defending the Anzac front line. In August 1915, Jack was promoted in the field to sergeant after taking part in the attack at Hill 971, during which allies attempted to take Chunuk Bair, Hill Q and Hill 971. The attack proved costly and the allies failed to hold their ground due to rugged terrain and inadequate planning.

His next major battle came on 21 August when an attack was mounted at Hill 60 in what was to be the last major offensive on the Gallipoli peninsula. Advancing troops were attempting to link the British positions at Suvla Bay with the Australian and New Zealand positions at the Anzac beachhead. Official war historian Charles Bean labelled the offensive “one of the most difficult in which Australian troops were ever engaged.”

The allies captured part of Hill 60 during their initial advance on 21 August. The following day they struggled towards their objective but were eventually pushed back. Over the course of two days the allies sustained an appalling casualty rate of 50 per cent. On 27 August, another attack was mounted which was similarly uncoordinated and poorly supported by artillery. Advancing Australians were cut down by Turkish fire in waves. By 29 August, little had been gained and casualties stood at more than 1,300 killed, missing or wounded. Among the dead was 34 year old father of two, Sergeant Alfred Lachlan Jack.

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 Sergeant Alfred Lachlan Jack, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Australian War Memorial