The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Lieutenant Charles Coning Dale, 8th Light Horse Regiment, 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 Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on Lieutenant Charles Coning Dale, 8th Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

Lieutenant Charles Coning Dale, 8th Light Horse Regiment, AIF
KIA 7 August, 1915
Photograph: DAX0181

Story delivered 6 December 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant Charles Coning Dale.

Charles Dale was born on 21 July 1894 in Longwarry, Victoria. He attended public primary and high schools in Melbourne and went on to study at Melbourne University. He was an officer candidate in the Citizens’ Military Force and entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a cadet in March 1912. A year later he was part of the honour guard formed by RMC cadets for Canberra’s naming ceremony.

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, the fourth-year students at RMC were graduated early and commissioned as lieutenants into the AIF. In November, at Lord Kitchener’s representation, 30 third-year students, including Dale, were likewise commissioned. Dale went into the 8th Light Horse Regiment at Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria. During a brief leave he married his sweetheart, Sybil Wootten. He embarked for Egypt with his unit in February, aboard the transport ship Star of Victoria. At this time Sybil was pregnant with the couple’s first child.

The 8th Light Horse arrived in Egypt after the bulk of the AIF had sailed for the landing on Gallipoli. It underwent an intense training regime over the next few weeks and, where possible, the men took in the local sights.

Following the Gallipoli landings, it was decided to send the light horse regiments to the peninsula, unmounted, to reinforce the infantry battalions there.

In May the 8th Light Horse embarked for Anzac Cove, where it moved up to Walker’s Ridge into front-line positions opposite the Nek, and spent the following months rotating between front-line duty, supports, and rear areas.

In late June Dale was transferred from C Squadron to Regimental Headquarters, where he became regimental adjutant. One evening in July Dale, Colonel Alexander White, and the regimental medical officer Captain Syd Campbell went for a swim. As the men undressed a shell landed among the party, mortally wounding Campbell and leaving the others shaken but unhurt.

With the Gallipoli campaign deadlocked, a new offensive was planned to capture the Sari Bair Range. The 8th Light Horse Regiment took over the front-line trenches at Russell’s Top in preparation for the offensive.

As a member of the headquarters staff, Dale was among the first to go over the top in the early hours of 7 August. He was alongside Colonel White, who rather than observe the charge had chosen to lead his regiment. At 4.30 am the charge began, and as the men crested their parapet they were met with a hail of fire from the Turkish trenches. According to a report by Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Maygar VC, Dale “met his death by his Colonel’s side”. Maygar also attested to Dale’s popularity among officers and men of the regiment and noted his excellent qualities, ability, and promise. At just 21, Lieutenant Charles Dale left behind his wife and his newborn daughter, Valda.

His body was never retrieved and, following the war, his name was among those added to the Lone Pine Memorial. 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. His photograph is displayed by the Pool of Reflection. Dale stands second from the right along with the other officers of C Squadron, 8th Light Horse Regiment, prior to departure for overseas service.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant Charles Coning Dale, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section