The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (650) Corporal George Ball MM, 16th 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (650) Corporal George Ball MM, 16th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

650 Corporal George Ball MM, 16th Battalion, AIF
KIA: 4 July 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal George Ball MM.

George Ball was born in the Adelaide suburb of Cherry Gardens on 18 September 1889, the son of George and Isabella Ball.

He grew up in Cherry Gardens and attended Cherry Gardens Public School. Shortly after the turn of the century, the family moved to Boulder in Western Australia where George senior took up a job as a miner. The family suffered a terrible blow when Isabella passed away on 26 December 1904. By the time the First World War began, Ball was working as a timber cutter.

He enlisted at Blackboy Hill on 24 September 1914, joining the newly raised 16th Battalion. Three companies of the battalion were raised in Western Australia, the fourth was raised in Ball’s native State of South Australia.

It was not until the companies were brought together in Victoria that the battalion was able to train as a unit for the first time. Ball embarked from Melbourne with his battalion on 22 December 1914 aboard the transport ship Ceramic bound for Egypt.

After months of training in the Egyptian Desert, the 16th Battalion sailed to Mudros to prepare for their role in the Gallipoli campaign.

The 16th Battalion landed on Gallipoli late in the afternoon of 25 April and assisted in consolidating a front line that was still far from secure. A week later the battalion was sent to attack an Ottoman position known as the bloody angle. It suffered heavily, with nearly half of its number becoming casualties and the objective remained in enemy hands.

Ball was lightly wounded on 21 May and was evacuated to Lemnos for treatment and recovery. He was released from hospital at the beginning of June and appears to have been seconded to the Anzac Base on Imbros until November, when he returned to Gallipoli and re-joined his battalion. Ball then remained on Gallipoli until the 16th Battalion was withdrawn in December.

With the ending of the Gallipoli campaign, the Australian Imperial Force returned to Egypt in January 1916 where it underwent a period of rest and reorganisation. The 16th Battalion was split, with one half forming the nucleus of the 48th Battalion.

Ball remained with the 16th Battalion, however, and in March sailed with his unit for France and the Western Front. Following a brief stint in the Nursery Sector, the battalion was sent south to the Somme where, at the beginning of August, it took part in the fighting for Pozieres and then Mouquet Farm. On 29 August Ball was wounded for a second time. He received a shrapnel wound to his buttocks and was evacuated to the rear. It was nearly a month before Ball re-joined his battalion.

After enduring the winter of 1916 and 1917, the onset of spring saw the German army withdraw to their prepared positions known as the Hindenburg line. The 16th Battalion took part in the pursuit.

On 18 February Ball was promoted to lance corporal. He spent the majority of March sick in hospital with mumps and returned to his battalion just in time to take part in the disastrous first battle of Bullecourt.

The 16th Battalion attacked towards the town of Riencourt, a key defensive position in the Hindenburg Line. Ball’s recommendation for the Military Medal best describes his actions that day:
This non-commissioned officer is brought to notice for his daring courage and initiative during the attack on the Hindenburg Line in front of Riencourt on the morning of the 11th [of] April 1917. When the objectives had been obtained, he led a bombing party along an exposed flank of the second objective and drove the enemy back fully a hundred yards. He held on until no further bombs were available. He then attempted to deal with the enemy by charging over the top but most of his comrades were immediately short down by machine gun fire. He still held on however, gathered up German bombs lying about the trenches and returned to the attack. When the end came and all supplies of ammunition were exhausted he made a dash for freedom across bullet swept “no-man’s land” and called on the men with him to do likewise. He is strongly recommended for high distinction.

Ball was duly awarded the Military Medal for his actions at Bullecourt. At the end of June he was promoted to corporal.

In mid-July he was transferred to England where he became part of the 4th Training Battalion’s staff. He remained in this role until early March 1918, when he re-joined his Battalion in France. Later that month the Germans launched their spring offensive and the 16th Battalion was involved in defensive battles which helped bring the German offensive to a stop.

On 4 July, the 16th Battalion took part in the successful attack on the village of Hamel and the nearby Hamel and Vaire Woods. Having helped to capture Hamel Wood, the battalion suffered 13 men killed, one of whom was George Ball.

He had been standing with his mates on the jump off line in the pre-dawn hours when he was hit in the stomach, most likely by shrapnel from a German shell. He was killed instantly. He was 28 years old.

Ball was initially laid to rest in Hamelet Communal Cemetery. After the war his remains were reinterred in the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery.

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 George Ball MM, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section