The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Lieutenant Wilfred Norman Beaver, 60th 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 Lieutenant Wilfred Norman Beaver, 60th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

Lieutenant Wilfred Norman Beaver, 60th Battalion, AIF
DOW 26 September 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant Wilfred Norman Beaver.

Wilfred Beaver was born on 11 May 1882 to Albert and Evelyn Beaver of Melbourne. His father, remembered as a courteous man, was a manager for Falk jewellery merchants. His grandfather, Israel Bloomington, was one of the founders of the St Kilda Synagogue, and Wilfred grew up in Melbourne’s Jewish community.

Wilfred Beaver was educated at Scotch College, and then went to the University of Melbourne to obtain a law degree. After his graduation he joined the Commonwealth public service and went to Port Moresby as a magistrate. Wilfred Beaver became the Resident Magistrate of the western division of Papua, and lived in Port Moresby for more than a decade. He was keenly interested in local customs, and became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society after publishing a number of articles in conjunction with the government anthropologist, Ernest Chinnery. From 1905 he served as a commissioned officer in the armed constabulary in Papua; he also had previous military experience with the Victorian field artillery.

In early 1914 Wilfred Beaver returned to Australia on leave, but had returned to Papua before the outbreak of war in August. He was selected by the government of Papua to take command of the armed constabulary on the border between the Australian-governed and German-governed parts of Papua. It was later reported that he became “the first British soldier to enter German territory” as a result. He remained there until he was offered a provisional commissioned rank in the Australian Imperial Force in December 1915. He returned to Australia to undertake officer training at Duntroon, was confirmed as a second lieutenant in March 1916.

Beaver spent several months at Broadmeadows Camp in Victoria before leaving for active service overseas in August 1916 with reinforcements to the 60th Battalion. The 60th Battalion had been virtually wiped out at the battle of Fromelles in July, and was still rebuilding when Beaver arrived.

Although the battalion saw little further offensive action that year, as winter closed in towards the end of 1916, the battalion rotated in and out of the front line. After months of living in cold outdoor conditions, Second Lieutenant Wilfred Beaver fell ill with what was described as “general debility”. In fact, he had suffered a relapse of the malaria he had contracted in Papua a decade before. He was sent to hospital and later to training camps in England to ensure his recovery.

While training on Salisbury Plain in early 1917, Beaver was promoted to full lieutenant. He rejoined his battalion on the battlefields of the Western Front in June.

On 26 September 1917 the 60th Battalion took part in the successful battle of Polygon Wood, near Ypres in Belgium. In the early stages of the attack, Lieutenant Beaver was advancing in the open when he was struck in the stomach by a rifle bullet. He was with Sergeant Major Smith, who was forced to leave him behind to carry on with the attack. Smith reported that Beaver had died, and because shells “were falling like hail at this point” his body had probably been buried.

In fact, Beaver had somehow survived the gunshot wound to his abdomen and was taken to a nearby casualty clearing station. He died there shortly after arrival.

He was later mentioned in 1st Anzac Corps Routine Orders, in which the “corps commander [Lieutenant General Sir William Birdwood] expressed appreciation of gallant serviced rendered [by Beaver] during recent operations.”

Today Lieutenant Beaver is buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. He was 35 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 Lieutenant Wilfred Norman Beaver, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section