The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3902) Corporal John Henry Peach 6th 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (3902) Corporal John Henry Peach 6th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

3902 Corporal John Henry Peach 6th Battalion, AIF
KIA 19 August 1916
Photograph: DA12483

Story delivered 26 December 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal John Henry Peach.

John Henry Peach was born in Birmingham England. He immigrated to Australia with his family when he was seven years old. The family settled in suburban Melbourne and he attended Richmond State School. Little is known of his early employment, but by 1914 he was living in Moonee Ponds with his wife, Gina, and son, Raymond, and was working as a wool sampler.

Aged 41, Peach enlisted for service with the AIF at Ascot Vale on 22 July 1915. He remained at the Ascot Vale depot until November, when he was allotted to the 12th reinforcements to the 6th Battalion.

On 23 November he embarked with his unit from Port Melbourne aboard the transport ship Ceramic, bound for Egypt. He disembarked in Alexandria in early January 1916. Peach was then sent to a reinforcements holding camp at Serapeum. During his time here, he was promoted to lance corporal. It wasn’t until late February that he joined the 6th Battalion.

Peach was posted to 9 Platoon, C Company, and quickly forged a reputation as a fine leader; a bit rough perhaps, but with a lively character that endeared him to his officers and fellow men alike.

The 6th Battalion sailed for France at the end of March and by the end of the month was in front-line positions near Fleurbaix. This was the battalion’s introduction to war on the Western Front and it was the first time Peach had been in the front line. He impressed those around him with his courage and ability to inspire and was promoted to corporal in May.

Peach experienced his first battle on 25 July when he took part in the attack on Pozières. There was red dust where bricks had once been part of walls and a moonscape of shell holes and trenches. After three days of heavy fighting the battalion was withdrawn and sent back to a rest area.

The battalion returned to the front line north of Pozières on 15 August and spent the next few days rebuilding defences and on work parties. During the night of 19 August Peach was standing near his platoon commander having a conversation when a shell landed nearby. Shrapnel from the explosion killed Peach and another man immediately, but the officer was unscathed and later assisted to bury Peach and the other soldier.

The following day Peach’s grave was hit by shell-fire and, when it was safe, he was reburied in a nearby shell hole. With the severity of the shelling in the area and the continued fighting, his grave was unable to be relocated after the war. He was 42 years old.

Today Corporal John Henry Peach is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in France. His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Corporal John Henry Peach, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section

Sources
National Archives of Australia service record series B2455: Corporal John Henry Peach
Ancestry page for John Henry Peach
AWM Roll of Honour page – Corporal John Henry Peach
AWM Roll of Honour circular – Corporal John Henry Peach
AWM4 6th Battalion War Diaries July – August 1916
AWM4 2nd Brigade War Diaries July – August 1916
C.E.W. Bean, Official history of Australia in the war of 1914–1918, Volume III, The Australian Imperial Force in France, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1916.