The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (5719) Corporal Arthur Edward Oakley, 14th 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 Smedley, the story for this day was on (5719) Corporal Arthur Edward Oakley, 14th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

5719 Corporal Arthur Edward Oakley, 14th Battalion, AIF
KIA: 10 August 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Arthur Edward Oakley.

Arthur Oakley was born in 1895, the youngest son of Charles and Maud Oakley of Melbourne. His father was one of the founders of Oakley, Adams and Company, which became well-known wine and spirit merchants in Melbourne. Arthur grew up in the suburb of Box Hill, and was educated at the Trinity Grammar School in Kew. After finishing his education he took an interest in agriculture, and spent several long periods away from Melbourne, working as a farm hand in the country.

Arthur was keen to fight from the earliest days of the war in 1914. However, he was a short man, standing just 5 feet 3 inches, or 160 centimetres tall, and did not meet early enlistment requirements. That did not stop him trying to enlist a number of times, although he was always turned down. It was not until enlistment standards were relaxed in 1916 that he was accepted to join the Australian Imperial Force. He went into camp straight away, and after several weeks training in Australia left for active service overseas in May 1916.

Private Oakley was first sent to Egypt, where the last remnants of the AIF were training before being sent on to France. From there he went to England to complete his training on Salisbury Plain, finally reaching his unit, the 14th Battalion, in October 1916. As he arrived on the Western Front, what would become one of the coldest winters on record was just setting in, and he spent the next few months rotating in and out of the front line while active operations slowed.

In April 1917, following the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line, the 14th Battalion was part of a force that attempted to capture the outpost village of Bullecourt. Lacking firepower, the operation floundered in the snow, and eventually the Australians were withdrawn after suffering heavy casualties. Arthur Oakley came through the battle unwounded, and proved himself such a capable soldier that he was promoted to corporal shortly afterwards.

On 8 August 1917 the 14th Battalion relieved the 16th Battalion in the front lines near the Belgian village of Messines. Over the following days the battalion came under “spasmodic enemy artillery activity”, but otherwise were undisturbed. Corporal Oakley was in the front line on outpost duty on 10 August when a German high explosive shell landed near his post. Fragments of the shell hit Arthur in the head and chest, killing him instantly.

His body was later buried by his comrades near where he fell, and was marked by his rifle. His battlefield grave was lost in later fighting, and today he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres.

It was later reported in Australian newspapers that “his relatives are consoled in their grief by the pleasing knowledge that he had ‘done his bit’ heroically … young men such as he can ill be spared by any community, and it is one of the most regrettable aftermaths of the present dreadful war that it should take such a heavy toll on the blossoming youth of our country.” Corporal Arthur Oakley was 22 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 Corporal Arthur Edward Oakley, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section