The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX15140) Private Leslie Bede Muller, 2/3rd Battalion, Seond 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 Gerard Berelle, the story for this day was on (NX15140) Private Leslie Bede Muller, 2/3rd Battalion, Seond World War.

NX15140 Private Leslie Bede Muller, 2/3rd Battalion
KIA 21 January 1941

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Leslie Bede Muller.

Leslie Muller was born on the 5th of October 1908 in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, the eldest son of James and Annie Muller. His father a school teacher who taught at the town of Eurunderee for a long time, and the Muller family were descendants of a prominent Mudgee district pioneering family.

Leslie grew up alongside his younger brother, Austin, and went on to work as a bookkeeper. In 1935 he married Jessie Lowry in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, and the pair had two children: Annette and Peter.

Muller enlisted for service in the Second Australian Imperial Force in April 1940, by which point he had served in the Militia for three years. After a period of pre-embarkation leave, he left Sydney on 30 August 1940, bound for the Middle East.
During the sea voyage, Muller was appointed lance corporal. After arriving in Palestine at the end of September, he was promoted to acting corporal on 1 October; and in November and December he attended weapon training school.

In early January 1941 Muller joined the newly formed 2/3rd Battalion. Reverting to the rank of private, he was marched out to the staging camp in Palestine, joining his unit on 17 January.

The first battle of the war involving an Australian Army formation took place in January with the taking of the strongly held fortress of Bardia. The 2/3rd then advanced on Tobruk.

The attack began on 21 January, and by the end of the next day, Tobruk had fallen to the AIF, with some 25,000 Italians becoming prisoners.

Private Leslie Bede would not live to celebrate the victory. Killed in action during the first day of the assault, his remains were buried at Tobruk, but the following month were reburied at the Acroma Military Cemetery, where they lie today, under the epitaph chosen by his grieving family: “O valiant heart, who to glory came”.

Leslie Bede was 32 years old. He left behind a grieving widow, a four-year-old daughter, and a 16-month-old son.
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 Private Leslie Bede Muller, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section