The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (430) Private Arthur Charles Gustav Rathmann, 2nd Australian Pioneer 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 Joanne Smeadley, the story for this day was on (430) Private Arthur Charles Gustav Rathmann, 2nd Australian Pioneer Battalion, AIF, First World War.

430 Private Arthur Charles Gustav Rathmann, 2nd Australian Pioneer Battalion, AIF
DOW 18 September 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Arthur Charles Gustav Rathmann.

Arthur Rathmann was born on 15 January 1896 in Caloote, a town on the bank of the Murray River in South Australia. He was the descendent of German migrants who settled in South Australia in the mid-1800s. His parents, Franz and Johanne raised a large family of children before becoming estranged in 1908.

Arthur Rathmann was working as a farm labourer when Australia entered the First World War. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 22 January 1915, at the age of 19, and was allotted to the 27th Battalion.

After initial training, the 27th Battalion left Australia in June, and, after two months training in Egypt, landed at Gallipoli in mid-September. Rathmann, however, came down with a case of measles in June, and wasn’t able to join his battalion until late October. The 27th battalion was reinforcing the weary New Zealand and Australian Division defending Cheshire Ridge, and had a relatively quiet time at Gallipoli, suffering minimal casualties.

Regardless, the combination of poor nutrition, unsanitary living conditions, and lack of rest took its toll on Private Rathmann. In late November he was admitted to a field ambulance and then transferred to a casualty clearing station, suffering from jaundice, dysentery, and fever. He was sent to St Patricks Hospital on Malta, where his condition was described as still being “anaemic” and “weak”, and then transferred to Alexandria.

It wasn’t until late February 1916 that Rathmann’s health had improved sufficiently for him to return to duty. By this time the AIF had withdrawn from the disastrous Gallipoli campaign and returned to Egypt. While the troops had period of rest and retraining, the AIF was expanded and re-organised, effectively doubling in size.

As part of this restructuing, Rathmann was transferred to the newly-established 2nd Pioneer Battalion. Pioneer battalions performed construction tasks in the forward area, such as constructing trenches and dugouts, and occasionally acted in the engineer role on tasks such as the construction of bridges. However, they were trained and organised as infantry battalions, and occasionally served as front line infantry.

Assigned to the 2nd Division, the 2nd Pioneer Battalion deployed to the Western Front and fought in most of the major battles involving the AIF between mid-1916 and the end of the war.

Despite suffering heavy losses at Pozieres, the battalion took part in fighting at Mouquet Farm in July and August 1916. The following year, the Germans withdrew to the heavily fortified defences of the Hindenburg Line, and the pioneers were committed to attacking these defences as part of Allied efforts to follow up the German retreat. This saw Rathmann take part in fighting at Bullecourt in May, and around Ypres later in the year.

On 2 September 1917, Private Rathmann was recorded as being absent from tattoo roll call at the end of the day, and forfeited two days’ pay as a penalty.

A little over a fortnight later, on 18 September 1917, Rathmann was wounded in action, receiving a shell wound that penetrated his back and damaged his abdomen. His wound was mortal, and he died shortly afterwards at the 3rd Field Ambulance.

He was buried at the Menin Road South Military Cemetery, near Ypres. He was 21 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 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 Arthur Charles Gustav Rathmann, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section