Australian War Memorial holds 1,000th Last Post Ceremony

At 4.55 pm today the Australian War Memorial will commemorate its 1,000th Last Post Ceremony, featuring the story of Flight Sergeant Lindsay Arthur Bayley, who was killed on active service with No. 9 Squadron, Royal Air Force, during the Second World War.

Each Last Post Ceremony commemorates the personal story of one of the more than 102,000 Australians whose names are recorded on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour in recognition of the service and sacrifice of all Australian servicemen and servicewomen who have died in war.

Though for many years the Australian War Memorial had held a daily closing ceremony, the Last Post Ceremony in its present form was first held at the Memorial on 17 April 2013. It featured the story of Private Robert Poate of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2012.

The Poate family was in attendance, and laid a wreath at the base of the Pool of Reflection in honour of their son and brother. Also present were senior political, diplomatic, and military representatives, including the Chief of the Defence Force, the three service chiefs, members of Private Poate’s unit, and members of the public. The story of Private Poate was read by Corporal Daniel Keighran VC.

So began a tradition. Since then the Last Post Ceremony has resonated not only with the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors to the Memorial but also, via live-streaming, with hundreds around Australia and the world.

Each day at 4.55 pm AEDT the Memorial farewells its visitors with a moving event that includes the Australian National Anthem, a lament played by a piper, the laying of wreaths, the Ode to the Fallen, and a tribute to the service of an individual Australian recorded on the Roll of Honour.

Memorial Director Dr Brendan Nelson initiated the daily event in 2013 after being inspired by the Last Post Ceremony held every evening at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.
“Each day, in all weather, locals gather and the Last Post sounds at the site of the old city gate leading to the Ypres Salient battlefields and the Menin Road, through which so many Australian troops passed on their way to battle,” said Dr Nelson. 

“To witness the profound expression of gratitude of the Belgian nation towards those who died for its freedom and independence was incredibly moving, and I was compelled to do something similar at home.”

Dr Nelson said that it will take nearly 300 years to commemorate every person on the Roll of Honour, and the Memorial is committed to ensuring that each story will eventually be told.

For more information on the Last Post Ceremony visit the Memorial’s website at: www.awm.gov.au/events/last-post-ceremony.