The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3223) Private Leslie Prowd, 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 Dennis Stockman, the story for this day was on (3223) Private Leslie Prowd, 59th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

3223 Private Leslie Prowd, 59th Battalion, AIF
DOW 29 September 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Leslie Montgomery Prowd.

Leslie Prowd was born in 1890, one of nine children of John and Catherine Prowd of the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield. He attended Brighton and Caulfield State Schools before working as a contractor for the Country Roads Board. On the eve of the First World War, he was also an active member of the St. Kilda Rifle Club.

Prowd enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Warragul in November 1916, and after a period of training at Royal Park, embarked for England with a reinforcement group for the 59th Battalion. He spent the following months training as a Lewis gunner on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, before sailing for France and joining the 59th Battalion as it rested near Amiens in June 1917.

Prowd arrived on the Western Front in one of the most critical moments of the war, as the focus of British operations shifted north into Belgium. In an effort to drive German troops away from the Belgian coastline, British commanders planned to break out of the Ypres Salient and seize ground towards the town of Passchendaele. Beginning on 20 September 1917, Australian troops fought a number of highly successful “bite and hold” actions that succeeded in capturing ground occupied by German troops.

One of those actions took place at Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917, with troops of the Australian 5th Division capturing a significant feature known as the Butte after advancing behind a “creeping barrage” put down by British and Australian artillery. The 59th Battalion were subjected to a number of German counter-attacks as they advanced during the operation, but were nevertheless successful in reaching their objectives and holding their positions over the following days.

But success came at a cost, as the 5th Division suffered over 5,471 casualties in less than two days of fighting. Among them was Leslie Prowd, who was severely wounded in the leg by a German artillery shell during the attack. He was taken to the 17th Casualty Clearance Station at Remy Siding near Poperinge, where he died two days later. Aged 27 at the time of his death, he was buried at the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, where a small epitaph written by his mother appears on his headstone: “In memory of our dear son and brother Leslie, at rest with the Lord”.

Leslie Prowd is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

His is just one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Leslie Prowd, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section