The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3065) Private William Harold Hutchins, 48th Battalion (Infantry), First World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial every 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 Robyn Siers, the story for this day was on (3065) Private William Harold Hutchins, 48th Battalion (Infantry), First World War.

3065 Private William Harold Hutchins, 48th Battalion
KIA 7 August 1916
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 7 August 2013

Today, we remember and pay tribute to Private William Harold Hutchins.

William Hutchins was born in Prospect, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. He was married to Jessie, and had two sons. After spending many years working in a sugar refinery, he had just moved to the employ of Messrs Walter and Morris, timber merchants at Port Adelaide, when war broke out in Europe in 1914.

He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1916 and went with the 16th Battalion to Egypt, and on to Gallipoli. He was on the peninsula for six weeks before the evacuation.

After the AIF returned to Egypt, it underwent a period of reorganisation and training. As part of the reorganisation, William Hutchins was transferred to the 48th Battalion. He was joined there by his wife's brother, Albert Molde, who had enlisted in Australia in January. They were sent to France to fight on the Western Front.

In early August 1916 the 48th Battalion was involved in the fighting around Pozières and the OG, or "Old German" lines. On the 5th they took over the lines from the 27th Battalion, and found them to be "just one mass of craters", a place where artillery fire had destroyed the landscape and even the trenches they were supposed to be manning. The battalion suffered very heavy casualties on the journey into the lines, and in the days following. On the morning of 7 August, the battalion was attacked by the Germans, who succeeded in getting into the Australian trench. After some heavy fighting they were driven out, and the line was re-established and strengthened.

However, the 48th Battalion suffered over 500 casualties. One was Albert Molde, who was shot through the spine and would die of his wounds a few weeks later. The other was William Harold Hutchins, who was killed in action. When they were relieved, the 48th Battalion made sure they recovered as many of the bodies of the men killed in action as they could, but there were so many they could not find them all. William Hutchins's body was never found, and his final resting place remains unknown. He was 31 years old. There is no known photographic record of him.

The names of Privates William Harold Hutchins and Albert Molde are listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private William Harold Hutchins and Private Albert Carl Otto Molde, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.