The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1047) Corporal Charles Brooke Burgess 30th 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 (1047) Corporal Charles Brooke Burgess 30th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1047 Corporal Charles Brooke Burgess 30th Battalion, AIF
KIA 7 April 1918
Story delivered 2 May 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Charles Brooke Burgess.

Known to friends and family as “Charlie”, Charles Burgess was born in Laverton, Victoria, on 10 July 1893, the first of eight children born to Brooke and Elizabeth Burgess. He grew up in Williamstown and attended North Williamstown State School before becoming an apprentice sign writer, working for Burke Brothers in Melbourne. During this time he also joined the Royal Australian Naval Reserve.

Burgess was mobilised in early August 1914 and joined the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, which was raised to seize German territory in the Pacific.

On 11 September, elements of the force landed at Kabakaul in New Britain and moved inland to capture a radio station. There were several skirmishes with German and native troops along the way, but the radio station was captured that afternoon.

Burgess did not take part in the landing or the fighting during the day. His company came ashore later and was involved in the occupation and administration of Rabaul and wider New Britain.

Burgess returned to Australia with the majority of the expeditionary force in February 1915. He and many of his Royal Australian Naval Reserve comrades from Victoria went on to enlist in Sydney on 1 July. After a month in a training depot, the men were posted to the newly-raised 30th Battalion where they formed A Company. The battalion embarked from Sydney on 9 November aboard the transport ship Beltana bound for Egypt.

The battalion remained in Egypt until June 1916 during which time Burgess was promoted to lance corporal. After disembarking at Marseilles, the battalion made its way to the north of France and the “Nursery Sector” around Armentieres, where they were introduced to the rigours and routine of trench warfare.

The 30th Battalion’s first major action was at Fromelles. Initially carrying ammunition and supplies, the battalion was soon drawn into the wider fighting and suffered heavy casualties in the disastrous attack.

Burgess was promoted to corporal in August and, with his battalion, rotated in and out of the front line for the remainder of the year.

In November, with the onset of the bitter winter of 1916 and 1917, Burgess developed trench feet. He was hospitalised and evacuated to England, where a long period of recovery followed.

Though medically downgraded, Burgess was posted to the 3rd Command Depot at Hurdcott in June 1917. He spent the remainder of the year as an instructor and slowly regained his fitness. In early February 1918 he sailed for France and re-joined the 30th Battalion at Wulverghem Camp in Belgium.

The 30th Battalion was in reserve the following month when the Germans launched their spring offensive. By the end of the month, the battalion had moved into France and were located in Gentle Wood near Villers Bretonneux.

On the morning of 7 April, Burgess was on guard in the battalion’s transport lines when a German aircraft flew over the Australian positions and dropped a bomb that landed close to him. The resulting explosion killed Burgess and two other men instantly. Burgess and the others were laid to rest that afternoon in the Boves East Communal Cemetery. He was 25 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on your left, 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 Corporal Charles Brooke Burgess, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section