The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (474) Private Thomas Alfred Dearlove, 32nd 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 , the story for this day was on (474) Private Thomas Alfred Dearlove, 32nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

474 Private Thomas Alfred Dearlove, 32nd Battalion, AIF
KIA 27 April 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Thomas Alfred Dearlove.

Thomas Dearlove, commonly known as “Tom”, was born on 2 September 1880 on Ketchowla Station near Burra in South Australia. His father, William Dearlove, had migrated to Australia from England in 1854 and shortly after arriving had travelled to the mid-north of South Australia to work for a Mr Austin on Ketchowla Station near Burra. After nearly 20 years in Australia, William married Harriet James, Thomas’s mother, and began what would become a large family.

William Dearlove eventually acquired Ketchowla from Mr Austin, and all of his children grew up on the property. Thomas was privately educated, and like his brothers went on to work on the property as a grazier. His father instilled strong Christian values in his family, and gave generously to the poor in the local Burra community. The Dearlove brothers, together with the Collins brothers, formed the entirety of the Ketchowla cricket eleven, and competed successfully in the district for some years. Thomas was known as the “stonewaller” of the team. He also played cricket for the Terowie cricket club and was a member of the town’s rifle club. When his father died in late 1914 at the age of 80, Thomas and his six brothers and two sisters formed a corporation to carry on the running of the property.

Thomas Dearlove enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915. He was followed by two of his brothers, Archie and Harry, who enlisted in early 1916 and would serve throughout the war with the 11th Field Ambulance. Thomas, however, was posted to the 32nd Infantry Battalion, and had sailed for Egypt before his brothers had joined. He fell ill in Egypt and spent some time in hospital with an infected leg before being sent to France in late June 1916.

Private Dearlove rejoined his battalion in the field not long after it had participated in the disastrous attack at Fromelles in July 1916. As a result of the extremely heavy casualties suffered by the battalion, it did not play a major offensive role for the rest of the year.

Throughout 1917 the 32nd Battalion played a secondary role, following up the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, and protecting the flank of the Bullecourt operations. Dearlove had been promoted to lance corporal in mid-1917 but reverted to the rank of private at his own request. In September 1917 the 32nd Battalion participated in the battle of Polygon Wood, one of few Allied successes of that year, and Dearlove came though unscathed.

In December 1917 the 32nd Battalion was on a train moving towards the town of Desvres when a coupling between carriages broke. One of the passengers, Private Moritz Heuzenroder, was on the train, and described what happened when the uncoupled second half of the train caught up to and hit the front half. He wrote “there were six carriages smashed like firewood. I shall never forget the sight … all those who were able got to work and helped to get the others out. It took half an hour to get them all out.” Private Dearlove was on the train and suffered abrasions to his leg in the accident. He recovered over some weeks in a convalescent depot.

By 27 April 1918, Private Dearlove had returned to his battalion and was carrying out his duties as a member of a working party in a forward area in France. A high-explosive artillery shell burst near the party, and a fragment struck Dearlove in the heart. He was killed instantly, reportedly without any apparent pain.

Private Thomas Dearlove was buried in a nearby cemetery at Vaux-sur-Somme but after the war his remains were reinterred in the Villers-Bretonneux Military cemetery, where he lies today under the words “greater love hath no many than to lay down his life for his friends.” He was 37 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 Thomas Alfred Dearlove, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section