The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (847) Corporal Hugh Mercer, 3rd Australian Pioneer Battalion, 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 (847) Corporal Hugh Mercer, 3rd Australian Pioneer Battalion, First World War.

847 Corporal Hugh Mercer, 3rd Australian Pioneer Battalion
DOW 22 December 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Hugh Mercer.

Hugh Mercer was born on 16 March 1890 in Ipswich, Queensland, the younger of two sons born to blacksmith John Mercer and his wife Mary-Ann. Hugh received his education at the local state school, where he was also an active member of their cadets program. He later found employment as a locomotive engine driver with Ipswich Railways.

Hugh Mercer enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 27 January 1916. He was assigned to C Company of the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, a unit comprised of men who were trained as both engineers and infantrymen. He undertook a short period of training before being sent to Melbourne to embark for overseas service. Before leaving, he was farewelled by the Ipswich community at a small party where he was presented with a pocket knife, a letter wallet and a silver pencil case. He embarked for active service from Melbourne later that year, travelling on board the troopship Wandilla.

Private Mercer arrived in England on 26 July 1916 and continued his training. In November, he was promoted to corporal before embarking for the Western Front just a few days later. His unit was sent to the Franco-Belgian border, settling into billets around the French village of Armentieres. Mercer experienced his first gas attack less than a week after arriving. Eight days later, the enemy began bombarding his unit’s location, with three shells landing perilously close to battalion headquarters. The following day, Mercer’s unit came under fire from enemy aircraft flying over Armentieres before the men were ordered into the cellars of their billets in anticipation of another attack. Corporal Mercer and his comrades spent an uncomfortable night in the cold dark cellars before being allowed to return to their billets in the morning.

Over the following days, Mercer’s unit was engaged in a variety of maintenance tasks taking place both in and behind the lines. The men spent their days undertaking routine trench maintenance, repairing duckboards, tramlines and constructing dugouts. Though located in a relatively quiet sector of the front, Mercer and his comrades worked under constant threat of enemy fire and gas attacks. On 16 December 1916, Mercer was sent out into the front lines as part of a working party when the enemy began shelling his position.

Mercer was among four men who were hit by shrapnel during the barrage. Badly wounded, he was evacuated to a nearby casualty clearing station where he was operated on to remove shrapnel from his chest. Despite taking immediate action, the surgeons entertained little hope of Mercer recovering. He remained at the casualty clearing station until 22 December when he succumbed to his wounds and died.

He was later buried by his comrades nearby at the Trois Arbres Military Cemetery. Mercer’s family paid tribute to him in a poem published in the Queensland Times which read:

“Sleep on dear son, in a soldier’s grave,
Your life for your country you nobly gave;
We were not with you to say good-bye,
But safe in God’s keeping now you lie.”

Hugh Mercer was 26 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 Corporal Hugh Mercer, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section