| Accession Number | PAFU2013/044.01 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Film |
| Object type | Last Post film |
| Physical description | 16:9 |
| Maker |
Australian War Memorial |
| Place made | Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell |
| Date made | 15 September 2013 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
|
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (5498) Corporal Ralph Jones,14th Battalion (Infantry), First World War
Description
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 Charis May, the story for this day was on (5498) Corporal Ralph Jones,14th Battalion (Infantry), First World War.
**Due to technical issues this recording is of poor quality and not for public display.**
Speech transcript
5498 Corporal Ralph Jones, 14th Battalion
DOW 12 April 1917
Photograph: P05426.001
Story delivered 15 September 2013
Today, we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Ralph Jones.
Ralph Jones was a bank clerk from Bendigo who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915 at the age of 19. He was sent overseas with the 17th reinforcements to the 14th Battalion and underwent an extended period of training before joining the rest of his battalion in France.
In April 1917 the 14th Battalion were ordered to attack the Hindenburg Line near the French village of Bullecourt. They were to cooperate with tanks, a new weapon to the Western Front. Unfortunately, the tanks could not manage the rough terrain and were either very late to the front line or did not arrive at all. The infantry attack went ahead without them, but suffered very heavy casualties and lost a large number of men to the Germans as prisoners of war.
Ralph Jones was one of the men listed as missing at the end of the battle. His good friend Sergeant J.J. Myers wrote to Ralph's father in Bendigo to tell him what he knew of Ralph's fate. Ralph had been seen wounded in the trenches, and it was supposed that when the trenches were retaken by the Germans they had taken him prisoner.
An enquiry later confirmed that this was the case. Corporal Jones had been wounded in the abdomen by machine-gun fire and was bandaged by his comrades and taken into a German dugout in the first line at Bullecourt. At about 10 am on the 11th they were forced to retire and Jones was too seriously wounded to be taken with them. In fact, to those who left him behind he appeared to be fatally wounded.
The Germans took Jones to one of their own dressing stations for treatment, but the following day he died in their care. He was buried by the Germans at Rumaucourt with other Australian prisoners killed as a result of the battle.
After the war his remains were removed from the German Cemetery and reinterred at the Vis-en-Artois cemetery. Ralph Jones was 20 years old.
His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War, and his photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.
This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Corporal Ralph Jones, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.