The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX22703) Lieutenant John Forbes Gordon, 2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second 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 Jennifer Surtees, the story for this day was on (NX22703) Lieutenant John Forbes Gordon, 2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

NX22703 Lieutenant John Forbes Gordon, 2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA 19 November 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant John Forbes Gordon.

John Gordon was born in Sydney on 20 October 1918, the fourth of five children born to James and Gladys Gordon. He was educated at Cranbrook School, in the eastern Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill, where he was a noted sportsman, excelling at cricket in particular.

After school he spent two years jackerooing in the Booligal district of New South Wales and Western Queensland before returning to the family property of “Werriwa”, just out of Bungendore.

Gordon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 30 May 1940 at Martin Place in Sydney. By then he had served for one and a half years in the 7th Light Horse unit of the Australian Military Forces.

After a short period of home leave, he was assigned to an engineering unit, and sailed for the Middle East, arriving on Christmas Day 1940. Gordon was soon marked as potential leadership material, and was sent to Officer Cadet Training School in Cairo. During his training, he suffered from a bout of jaundice in August 1941, but was soon back to finish the course. In December he was posted to the 2/33rd Battalion as a lieutenant.

The 2/33rd occupied a position around the port of Tripoli until early 1942. Following Japan's entry into the war, the Australian government requested the return of the 7th Division to Australia.

After returning home for training and preparation for jungle warfare, Gordon and his battalion left Australia again in late August, arriving in New Guinea as Japanese forces advanced along the Kokoda Track towards Port Moresby.

Four days after arriving, the battalion was thrown into battle around Ioribaiwa. As the Japanese advance continued, the Australians withdrew back to Imita Ridge. As the 25th Brigade withdrew, the 2/33rd formed a rearguard, covering the withdrawal.

When the Japanese began to withdraw, the Australians pursued them back to the beachheads on the northern coast. Throughout October and November 1942, Gordon’s battalion fought at Myola and Gorari, before being thrown into further fighting around Gona in late November. Casualties were heavy, and by the time the Japanese beachhead had been destroyed and the battalion was withdrawn to Port Moresby it had been reduced to two companies.

Among the dead was Lieutenant John Forbes Gordon, who had been killed in action on 19 November.

Sergeant Tom Twentyman later wrote to John’s parents, and gave an account of his death:
I knew your son well. He was my platoon commander … =John was sent out with the remnants of our platoon and a few from 11 Platoon to contact another brigade, but instead of the men … being where they expected, [the Japanese were] well dug in. A Bren gunner was instantly killed and his no. 2 badly [wounded] … [T]he lads put up a great but futile fight and were ordered by John to give him covering fire while he went in to try and get out the wounded man. He went forward only a short distance and was seen to fall A corporal … dashed out to John, but could not give him any help. John had been killed instantly.

His body was buried at Soputa, but after the war his remains were exhumed and reburied at Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby, where they lie today under the inscription: “peace perfect peace”.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant John Forbes Gordon, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section