The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (7205) Private David Andrew Allison, 11th Battalion, 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 Josie Dunham, the story for this day was on (7205) Private David Andrew Allison, 11th Battalion, First World War.

7205 Private David Andrew Allison, 11th Battalion
DOD 16 December 1917

Story delivered on 18 May 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private David Allison.

David Andrew Allison was born on 3 December 1872 in Murphy’s Creek, Queensland, to Samuel and Elizabeth Allison. He went to the local school before training as a plumber, and at some point moved to Western Australia.

In 1896 Allison married Elizabeth Waterhouse in Busselton, Western Australia, and the couple went on to have four children. In 1901, he became a policeman in the Western Australian police force and two years later, while working as a constable, was stabbed while trying to protect a young woman in Perth. He went on to work in Boulder and Fremantle, but in 1909 left the police force after fracturing his leg. He received compensation, with which he bought a team of horses and began working as a teamster.

In early 1915 his eldest son, David Samuel Allison, tried to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force. He was not quite 18 years old and was discharged shortly afterwards, but tried again and successfully enlisted in December of that year. He was posted to the trench mortars, and went on to serve on the Western Front.

In August 1916 David Allison senior followed his son by enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force. His acceptance was deferred because he had a shortened left leg from his old fracture, but he was eventually accepted and sent overseas with the field ambulance, later transferring to the 11th Battalion.

Private Allison underwent an extended period of training in England. During this time his fractured leg caused him significant problems, and he was put on light duties. He was found to be unfit for active service, but was able to continue serving in training camps in England. Even so he continued to struggle, and towards the end of 1917 he fell seriously
ill. On 16 December 1917 David Andrew Allison died in hospital in Weymouth, England, of pleurisy and heart complications. He was 45 years old.

His son served until 1918, surviving serious gunshot wounds in 1917, and was repatriated to Australia for family reasons.

David Andrew Allison’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 David Andrew Allison, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Unit