The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (142) Trooper Arthur Alfred Johns, 9th Light Horse Regiment, 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 Tory Clayton, the story for this day was on (142) Trooper Arthur Alfred Johns, 9th Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

142 Trooper Arthur Alfred Johns, 9th Light Horse Regiment, AIF
Died of illness 11 October 1918
Story delivered 1 October 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Trooper Arthur Alfred Johns.

Arthur Johns was born to James and Sarah Jane Johns on 9 April 1886 in the Adelaide suburb of Woodville.

He grew up on the family property, “Stancliffe” at Henley Beach, and attended Grange Public School. After leaving school he completed an apprenticeship as a butcher and was working in this trade when the First World War began.

Johns enlisted at Morphettville Racecourse in early October 1914, and became one of the original soldiers in the newly raised 9th Light Horse Regiment.

The new regiment came together in late October and spent several months in training before embarking for overseas service on 12 February 1915.

Arriving in Egypt in March, more training followed until May, when the 3rd Light Horse Brigade, including the 9th Light Horse Regiment, was sent as reinforcements for the heavy casualties being suffered in the first weeks of the Gallipoli campaign.

By June the regiment was occupying positions near Walker’s Ridge. Late in the month, Johns was involved in an operation that involved sustained rifle fire on Ottoman positions. When the Ottomans retaliated with artillery fire, Johns received shrapnel wounds to his chest and right arm and was evacuated to Egypt.

While his wounds were assessed as slight, it took several months for him to fully recover and it was not until late October that he re-joined his regiment at Gallipoli.

The 9th Light Horse had suffered terrible casualties while he was away. Two commanding officers had been killed and around half of the men had become casualties during the August Offensive.

Johns served on Gallipoli until his regiment was withdrawn to Egypt in December. The 9th Light Horse Regiment was then used to help defend the Suez Canal and in April took part in a raid to destroy an Ottoman outpost and its wells at Jifjafa in the Sinai.

While Johns and his unit did not take part in the battle of Romani in August, they pursued the Ottoman forces withdrawing out of the Sinai and into Palestine.

In mid-November 1916 Johns was sent to a rest camp at Port Said. Four days later, he absented himself without leave, presumably to enjoy the local sights at his own leisure. He returned two days later and was charged with being absent without leave, admonished, and fined three day’s pay for his trouble.

In December, now back with his unit, Johns took part in the battle of Magdhaba, a close run battle which was carried by a bayonet charge in which he took part.

Throughout 1917 Johns fought in the first and second battles for Gaza, both of which were costly failures. The 9th Light Horse Regiment then took part in the Third Battle of Gaza in late October, which saw the Ottoman forces withdraw. Over the next several weeks Johns and his unit were involved in harassing the Ottoman withdrawal and by early December had reached Jerusalem.

In early March 1918 Johns went on leave to the rest camp at Port Said. This time, his wanderings were confined to regimental hours. He returned to his unit towards the end of the month.

Soon after, the 9th Light Horse Regiment was involved in the failed attempt to capture Es Salt in the Transjordan, followed by a long, hot and unpleasant summer in the Jordan Valley.

By August 1918, the 9th Light Horse Regiment, along with the other light horse regiments in the Australian Mounted Division, had been issued with cavalry swords and moved from the Jordan Valley to near Jaffa of the Palestine coast in preparation for what would become known as the battle of Megiddo.

The offensive began on 19 September. The regiment took part in the capture of Jenin and then, covering vast distances, followed the 10th Light Horse Regiment into Damascus, becoming the first allied units to liberate the city.

After the capture of Damascus, the 9th Light Horse Regiment moved into bivouac positions near Kaukab where the exhausted troopers faced another enemy: disease. On the afternoon of 9 October, the regiment suffered its first death from cholera. The second loss came two days later when Johns was admitted to a field ambulance with a suspected case of cholera. Sadly, his illness was too far advanced to be treatable, and he died that day.

He was laid to rest nearby and the location of his grave marked on a map for later recovery. When hostilities ceased, his grave could not be found, and today he is commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing in the Jerusalem War Cemetery.

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 Trooper Arthur Alfred Johns, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section