The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Captain Herbert Humphreys Hunter, 7th Battalion, 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 Meredith Duncan, the story for this day was on Captain Herbert Humphreys Hunter, 7th Battalion, First World War.

Captain Herbert Humphreys Hunter, 7th Battalion
KIA 8-12 May 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 13 March 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Captain Herbert Humphreys Hunter.

Herbert Hunter was the youngest son of the late Mr G. Hunter, a brewer from Bendigo. Herbert went on to become a dentist in his home town, and was well known in the district as "one of the finest athletes of his day". He was also a captain in the Australian Imperial Regiment. Within weeks of the outbreak of war in Europe he applied for, and was granted, an equivalent commission in the newly formed Australian Imperial Force. He was given command of D Company of the 7th Battalion, and travelled to Egypt and then Gallipoli.

Hunter's personal experience of the Anzac landing was not documented. The 7th Battalion's war diary records that they were towed ashore at 5.30 am and made an attack during which men and units of the battalion soon became mixed together with other battalions. After reorganising, the 7th spent some days establishing and improving a defensive trench system.

On 8 May 1915 the 7th Battalion were given orders to attack the Turkish front line. D Company was supporting this operation and was gradually drawn into the battle. Hunter, "being an exceptionally fast runner", was at the forefront of operations. A special correspondent for the Melbourne Argus recorded the manner of Captain Hunter's death, writing:

... in some marvellous way he was not hit by a Turkish bullet until late in the morning, although men were killed all about him. He received a flesh wound in the heel, however, when the battle was at its height, and was taken behind the firing line to have the injury cleaned and bandaged. While he was lying on the ground a bullet struck him in the head and he died in a few seconds.

The war diary of the 7th Battalion records that this happened on 8 May, although in the confusion of the battle it could have been as late as the 12th. Herbert Hunter's body was lost in the subsequent fighting, and he has no known grave, but is remembered on the Helles Memorial on Gallipoli.

His name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War. There is no photograph in the Memorial's collection to display 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 Captain Herbert Humphreys Hunter, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.