The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3582) Private Leslie Charles Mills, 59th 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 Greg Kimball, the story for this day was on (3582) Private Leslie Charles Mills, 59th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

3582 Private Leslie Charles Mills, 59th Battalion, AIF
KIA 19 July 1916

Story delivered 28 November 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Leslie Charles Mills.

Fondly known as “Les”, Leslie Mills was born on 21 July 1897 in Briagolong, Victoria, the youngest of nine children of Thomas and Rachael Mills. He grew up in Briagolong, where he attended the local state school before going to work as a farmer with his father and brothers.

After the outbreak of the First World War, Leslie and his brother James enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 6 August 1915. Before leaving home, their mother told James to look after his younger brother.

The boys were given consecutive regimental numbers and after their initial training were allotted to the 8th reinforcements to the 23rd Battalion.

The Mills brothers left Melbourne aboard the transport ship Afric in early January 1916. Arriving in Egypt, they found the AIF in a period of expansion and reorganisation, and were transferred to the newly-raised 59th Battalion as a result.

The 59th Battalion sailed for France in June and less than a month later saw its first major action on the Western Front at Fromelles. On the morning of 19 July, Leslie and James were together in the front line awaiting the signal to attack. When the attack began, Mills followed his brother into no man’s land. Almost immediately, a mortar round landed between the brothers, killing Leslie instantly. He was 19 years old.

James turned to look for his brother, but could see no trace of him. He had to continue, but was wounded in the thigh soon afterwards. He was
evacuated to England to recover. He returned to be wounded in the spine at Polygon Wood in September 1917, returning to Australia in early 1918.

Another Mills brother, Peter, enlisted in October 1916 and served on the Western Front, returning to Australia in 1919.

Leslie Mills’s remains were never recovered. After the war, his name was added to the VC Corner Memorial near Fromelles.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in 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 Leslie Charles Mills, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section