The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (6248) Sergeant Norman Leslie Oliver, 16th 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 Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (6248) Sergeant Norman Leslie Oliver, 16th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

6248 Sergeant Norman Leslie Oliver, 16th Battalion, AIF
DOW 5 November 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 21 December 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Norman Leslie Oliver.

Popularly known as “Les”, Norman Oliver was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, in 1889. When war broke out in 1914, his family was living in the Lake Grace area in south-east Western Australia, where he was working as a farmer and mill hand.

Oliver enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force shortly after the outbreak of war, was posted to the 12th Battalion, and left Fremantle in October on the troopship Medic. After a period of training in Egypt, the 12th Battalion landed on Gallipoli in the early hours of 25 April 1915, when it was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the Anzac positions. In August the battalion contributed two companies to the attack on Lone Pine, the only battalion in the brigade to do so.

Oliver was evacuated from Gallipoli with influenza on 7 September. He was also passing blood in his urine, something he assumed was because a sandbag had dropped on his back some time before. However, it was deemed likely to be a kidney stone, and he was sent back to Australia for an operation.

Oliver re-enlisted in the AIF as soon as he recovered, and was posted to the 16th Battalion. He left Australia in October 1916 on board the Suffolk and went to England before being sent to fight on the Western Front. Oliver proved to be an able soldier, and was promoted a number of times, reaching the rank of sergeant in September 1917.

Shortly after his final promotion, Sergeant Oliver took part in operations near the Belgian town of Zonnebeke. His battalion reached its objective, at which point he took a small section of snipers into no man’s land to cover the rest of the battalion as it worked on consolidating its new position. While doing this, Sergeant Oliver “accounted for an entire gun crew at close quarters with his rifle”, continuing until he was badly wounded. He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions, the citation reading:
during the whole operation, his leadership and example were such as to inspire the greatest confidence in all men in his vicinity.

Oliver was evacuated to England to treat the gunshot wounds to his back and spine, which had rendered him paraplegic. He died of his wounds at the King George Military Hospital in London on 5 November 1917, and was buried in the Australian Military Burial Ground at Brookwood Cemetery. He was 29 years old.

Leslie Oliver’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 Sergeant Norman Leslie Oliver, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section