The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4753) Henry Varcoe Pearce, 20th 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 (4753) Henry Varcoe Pearce, 20th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

4753 Henry Varcoe Pearce, 20th Battalion, AIF
DOW 18 October 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Henry Varcoe Pearce.

Henry Pearce was born on 4 January 1885 in the Sydney suburb of Leichardt, the second eldest child of William and Kate Pearce. Henry, or “Harry” as he was known to his family and friends, went to school in Leichardt, and later worked as an ironworker with the New South Wales Railway. Harry was described as a gentle and quiet man with a great sense of humour. He married Florence Sarah Pearce, and the couple had one child, Lois, who was born in 1910. At the time of his enlistment, the couple were living in Marrickville, Sydney. While in the service, Pearce also went by the nickname “Gully”, possibly a reference to him having worked as a cook.

Pearce enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in December 1915, and took his oath at Casula, New South Wales. All of the Pearce brothers played a part in the war. Percy served in the army, Charles served in the air force, William served in the navy, and Francis was a munitions worker in England.

Henry Pearce sailed from Sydney on 13 April 1916, and after brief stopovers in Egypt and England arrived in France in November 1916. Harry joined D Company of the 20th Infantry Battalion just in time to endure the terrible winter of 1916 and 1917. The unit served in the Somme region of northern France, and in December and January endured the grinding hardships of trench warfare, either resting behind the front or facing intermittent German artillery barrages at the front line.

Throughout February and March, Pearce and the 20th Battalion pursued retreating German forces to the Hindenburg line, a reinforced and shortened series of trenches designed to improve German defensive capabilities.

On the 30th of March, as his battalion was stationed near Bapaume, Pearce fell ill. He was hospitalised for a little over a week and returned to the front on 8 April. However, he was again hospitalised only five days later. Harry suffered from numerous infections, as well as persistent pains in his legs, a condition known as trench fever. This second hospitalisation was severe enough that he eventually transferred to England to recover. He spent nearly three months in England, but while there underwent some additional training and met up with his brothers.

He rejoined his battalion in France on 1 September 1917, less than two weeks later Pearce and his unit transferred north to the muddy and bloody Ypres sector of Belgium. Pearce had his first major battle at Menin Road on 20 September. D Company was the first group in the battalion to take up starting positions for the attack, which was preceded by a heavy artillery barrage. The attack was a success for Australian forces, who took all their objectives, though it came at the cost of over 5,000 Australian casualties.

On the 8th of October, in torrential rain, Pearce and his battalion were moving into position in preparation for the next day’s attack at Poelcappelle when they came under heavy German high explosive artillery fire. Pearce became one of many casualties suffered in his battalion on this day when injured by the German shelling.

He was taken to the 3rd Australian Clearing Station with severe shrapnel wounds to both legs. His injuries were so severe that his right leg was amputated above the thigh, and his left foot was also removed. On 13 October, he arrived at the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Boulogne to recover. In a letter written to his wife while in hospital, Henry told his wife, “Well Flo love do not go worrying over my injuries. My right leg is off above my knee and my left foot is half off, so I have come out very well indeed. Better than one losing their life. So I am very thankful to be spared, so please dear one do not worry. I shall return to you all if God spares me to cross the water safe to dear old Aussie once again.”

His wounds, however, were so severe that he died on 18 October. He was 31 years old. He was survived by his heart-broken wife and seven-year-old daughter.

Harry’s loss was deeply felt in the Pearce family. On 27 October his brother Francis wrote a letter to the authorities pleading for information about his fate to be sent to his grieving wife and mother. In honour of his fallen brother, Percy named his son Henry, and two of his other brothers used Henry as a middle name.

The family also left many touching tributes in local papers. One, left by his wife’s family, read:

The hardest part is yet to come,
When the heroes are returning,
And we miss from among the cheery crowd,
The face of our dear Harry.

Harry now lies in the Wimereux Communal Cemetery in France, along with nearly 3,000 fallen Commonwealth soldiers of the First World War.

Henry Varcoe Pearce 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 Henry Varcoe Pearce, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section