The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1735) Private James George Coleman, 15th 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 (1735) Private James George Coleman, 15th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1735 Private James George Coleman, 15th Battalion, AIF
KIA 8 August 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 22 July 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private James George Coleman.

James Coleman was born around 1887 to James and Eliza Coleman of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, in England. He attended school at the Abbey House School in Tewkesbury and went on to become a bookseller and stationer. At about 23 he migrated to Australia and settled in Queensland, where he took up farming.

Coleman enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in January 1915. He underwent a brief period of training before leaving Brisbane on 8 April 1915 on the troopship Star of England. On the voyage he made friends with Alfred Davidge, Ernest Coffey, and Richard Palmer. The four were all part of the 15th Battalion, and remained close friends through to the landing on Gallipoli.

On the evening of 6 August 1915, as a part of the 4th Brigade’s attack on Hill 971, the 15th Battalion left its bivouac lines in Reserve Gully and began the march into position. The move was long and fraught with danger. At times the battalion guides lost their way, and at others they came under fire from Turkish positions that had to be captured before continuing. The battalion’s war diary recorded:
"our line of advance now took us over rough, broken, stony ridges, densely covered with low prickly undergrowth in which the Turks had taken cover and were obstinately disputing every yard of our own advance."

Exhausted by the rapid advance and constant skirmishing, the men of the 15th Battalion established a defensive position. That evening it was confirmed they would attack Hill 971.

The 15th Battalion was at the head of the brigade, and charged over Turkish positions for a considerable distance that night. It captured the objective but, in the face of determined Turkish resistance, was forced to retire. Coffey, Coleman, Davidge and Palmer were close to each other in the advance. At some point Palmer became separated from the others, and he never saw his mates again. A court of inquiry held in 1916 confirmed that Corporal Alfred Davidge and Privates Ernest Coffey and James Coleman had been killed in action on 8 August 1915.

Coleman’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died during 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 James George Coleman, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section