The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1297) Private Bruce Charles Curtis Archer, 3rd 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (1297) Private Bruce Charles Curtis Archer, 3rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1297 Private Bruce Charles Curtis Archer, 3rd Battalion, AIF
KIA 7 August 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Bruce Charles Curtis Archer.

Bruce Archer was born in 1895 in Singleton, New South Wales, the eldest child of Emily Elizabeth Archer. Young Bruce grew up in the Murrurindi area and attended a local public school. He later worked as a baker, and gained valuable military service by serving in a local volunteer cadets program.

Bruce Archer enlisted in the Australian Infantry Force in Sydney on 31 August 1914, just weeks after the beginning of the war. Like many young men at the time, Archer was keen to serve for Australia in what he thought would be a great adventure, and lied about his age in order to serve. He listed his age at enlistment as 20 years and ten months old when he was in fact only 18.

Archer joined the newly formed 3rd Infantry Battalion, which formed part of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Australian Division. Six weeks after enlisting, Archer sailed with his unit aboard the transport ship Euripides from Sydney to Albany in Western Australia, and then to Egypt. Once there, they continued their training at the Mena Camp outside of Cairo.

In early April 1915, Archer sailed from Alexandria for Lemnos, and after a brief period of training set sail once again, this time for Gallipoli.

Archer and the 3rd Battalion were among the first and second waves of Australian troops to land on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. They began their landing shortly at 5:30 am and were fully ashore two and a half hours later. The landed in heavy fighting and Turkish fire, the field diary of the 3rd Battalion records that “In the face of heavy fire the Division landed, the enemy being strongly entrenched on a steep headland”. Soon after landing, the 3rd Battalion formed part of the right flank of Australian troops that successfully took and then held a series of Turkish trenches near the landing beaches. Throughout the night and into 26 April Turkish forces kept up the battle and made a series of counter-attacks, but were unable to dislodge the Australian forces.

Archer and the 3rd Battalion remained on Gallipoli for the bloody weeks that followed.

In early August 1915, they moved into position to prepare for what would become known as the Battle of Lone Pine. The attack at Lone Pine was designed as a diversion to attract Turkish fire from a larger attack further to the north at Hill 971. The battle began after a three-day long bombardment of the Turkish lines that intensified for its final hour. At 5:30 pm on 6 August, Archer and the Australian troops jumped out of their trenches and attacked the Turkish positions. They successfully reached the first line of trenches, but found that they had been covered by protective wooden logs. While some of the troops attempted to remove the logs and attack Turkish forces underneath, the majority of the men continued their attack towards a series of communication trenches further behind the lines. These trenches were successfully taken, though held with great difficulty. Fighting raged for three days, and by the time it had subsided, the Australian 1st and 3rd Brigades had lost over 2,200 casualties.

In the chaos and confusion of the battle Archer was originally reported missing, and it was not until June 1916, nearly as year after his death, that he was officially declared to have been killed in action.
One report states that he was last seen in the initial charge on the Turkish lines on 6 August, killed by shell-fire as he neared the enemy trench. The official record states that he was killed in action on 7 August, likely while making an attack on a short stretch of Turkish trenches as the Australian troops sought to consolidate their position.

His body was never found. He was 19 years old.

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 Bruce Charles Curtis Archer, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section