The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2898) Private Percy Wade, 43rd 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 Chris Widenbar, the story for this day was on (2898) Private Percy Wade, 43rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2898 Private Percy Wade, 43rd Battalion, AIF
KIA 1 September 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Percy Wade.

Percy Wade, known to friends and family as “Perce”, was born on 11 December 1887 in Blackwood, now a suburb of Adelaide. He was the second son of Robert Wade and his second wife Mary. Percy was educated locally, and went on to work as a brickmaker. He was deeply involved in the Blackwood Methodist Church, serving as secretary to the Sunday school and as a church officer. He was described as a man “who could always be relied upon. His quiet disposition, his thoroughness and cheerfulness and Christian character made him greatly beloved in the district.”

Wade tried to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force early in the war, but was turned down because of varicose veins. As increasing numbers of men were needed for the war effort, enlistment standards declined, and by October 1916 he was able to enlist. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas in December with reinforcements to the 43rd Battalion.

Private Wade continued training in England. In April 1917 he was on guard duty at Durrington Camp on the Salisbury Plain when the man he was watching, deserter Harry Miller, escaped. Miller apparently climbed a wall instead of going to the latrine, and Wade later gave evidence at his own court martial saying, “it was my first time on guard and I had no idea it was possible to escape the way he did.” Wade was found not guilty of any misdemeanour, and continued training.

Wade remained on the Salisbury Plain for some months, joining his battalion on the battlefields of the Western Front in late 1917. He spent that winter rotating in and out of the front line in harsh conditions, and fell sick with flu in May 1918. A month after he rejoined the battalion, he took part in the battle of Hamel, a startlingly successful small-scale operation that remains famous to this day.

In the following weeks the 43rd Battalion participated in small operations to continue to push the German line back. On 30 August the 2nd Australian Division scored another stunning success in the capture of Mont St Quentin, and the 43rd entered the front line that evening to follow up on the success. At 5 am on 1 September, the battalion attacked a German trench known as Scutari trench, advancing under heavy German machine-gun fire.

Wade went over the top as the attack began, and had made it to a small shell-hole in no man’s land when he was hit by a machine-gun bullet. He called out to a Private Hallam who was nearby to come and dress his wounds. As Hallam finished getting the wound bandaged, he noticed that Private Wade had died.

Wade’s body remained in the isolated shell hole for at least another two days. Despite some sketchy reports of a battlefield grave, Percy Wade’s last resting place was never found, and today he is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. He was 30 years old.

In September 1918 at a service in the Methodist Church in Blackwood, the minister said, “I am grateful to have the opportunity to bear my testimony to the sterling character of Perce Wade. There was in him a happy blending of modesty and manliness, of quietness and courage, and of gentleness and strength. He was not a great talker, but he was a steady, faithful doer. Those who worked with him were impressed with his punctuality, plodding energy, and cheerful fidelity. Perce Wade’s memory will be long enshrined in the sacred depths of many hearts … we who remain thank God for the memory of and inspiration received from the life of Perce Wade, and know that his sacrifice has not been in vain.”

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 Percy Wade, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section