The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (7297) Leading Seaman Gordon Clarence Corbould, HMAS AE1, 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 Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on (7297) Leading Seaman Gordon Clarence Corbould, HMAS AE1, First World War.

7297 Leading Seaman Gordon Clarence Corbould, HMAS AE1
KIA 14 September 1914
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 25 February 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Leading Seaman Gordon Clarence Corbould.

Gordon Corbould was born in Strawberry Hills, Sydney, on 16 April 1887. He was the only son of Ernest and Alice Corbould, and grew up around the Epping area of Sydney. Little is known of his early life, but when he was old enough he joined the navy.

Corbould went to Britain as a member of the Royal Navy and joined the submarine service, serving there at least three-and-a-half years before returning to Australia. On his return he was described as a "manly man, six feet tall, broadened out and as handsome as ever, brave as a lion and God-fearing, knowing that at any moment he might be called upon".

Corbould was able to spend only a few months with his mother and two sisters in Sydney before being called up for active service with the Australian Naval Forces. In February 1914 the first of the Royal Australian Navy's new submarines had been commissioned into service. AE1 and her sister ship AE2 then left England together, finally reaching Australia on 24 May. Just over two months later Australia was at war.

One of the first acts of the Australian government following the outbreak of war was to arrange for a volunteer force called the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, or ANMEF, to seize German colonies in New Guinea and the south-west Pacific. Leading Seaman Corbould was a last-minute appointment to AE1 before the submarine left for New Guinea.

At 7.00 am on 14 September AE1 left base to patrol along the coast near the Duke of York Islands. It failed to return. The submarine had been accompanied by HMAS Paramatta, which was conducting its own patrol at the same time, but conditions were extremely hazy and it was difficult to keep sight of the submarine. No trace of
AE1 was ever found, despite extensive searches, and it was surmised that the vessel had been sunk on a reef or other submerged formation. The only option was to conclude that AE1 was lost with all hands.

Leading Seaman Gordon Corbould was one of those men concluded to have died. He was 27 years old. Two of his nephews, Richard and Alfred Carter, served in the Second World War. Alfred was killed in action in 1944.

Gordon Corbould's name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War. There is no photograph in the Memorial's collection to display beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Leading Seaman Gordon Clarence Corbould, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.