The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2203) Private Robert Henry Pratt, 46th 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (2203) Private Robert Henry Pratt, 46th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2203 Private Robert Henry Pratt, 46th Battalion, AIF
DOW 11 April 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 18 January 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Robert Henry Pratt.

Robert Pratt was born in Melton, Victoria, in 1896. A keen sportsman, he was one of the youngest members of the 1913 premiership-winning Melton Football Club, which also included his older brother, David. A farm labourer when war broke out, Robert enlisted in August 1915, leaving for war in May 1916 aboard the transport ship HMAT Katuna.

Originally intended as part of the reinforcements for the 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment, Pratt was sent to the Australian training camp at Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt. Soon after his arrival, however, he was transferred to England in line with the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force. Pratt was eventually assigned to the 48th Battalion, joining the unit in late 1916 after the costly battles of Pozières and Mouquet Farm in France.

Meanwhile, Robert’s brother David had also enlisted, serving with the 38th and then the 59th Battalion. David had a turbulent record in the army, receiving frequent punishments for being absent without leave. During one two-week unauthorised absence in 1918, David wed his English sweetheart, returning to his unit only after a brief honeymoon.

David returned home to his family in Melton at the end of the war, but Robert was not so lucky. During the unsuccessful assault on the village of Bullecourt in France on 11 April 1917, Robert received a gunshot wound to his buttock and abdomen. He died the following day.

With little news forthcoming, Pratt’s mother wrote to the army seeking clarification of her son’s death, asking questions perhaps familiar to many grieving families. She wrote: “Could you give me particulars of his death? I would like to know if he lived long or died straight out. I should like to know the last words he spoke. As I am his mother.”

There is no indication whether the details of Robert’s last 24 hours in the care of the 13th Australian Field Ambulance were ever communicated to his family.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from 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 Private Robert Henry Pratt, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Steve Bullard
Historian, Military History Section