The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2916) Corporal Clarence Galloway, 34th 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (2916) Corporal Clarence Galloway, 34th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2916 Corporal Clarence Galloway, 34th Battalion, AIF
KIA 31 March 1918
No photograph in collection (supplied by family)

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Clarence Galloway, who died during the First World War.

Clarence was born in 1894 in Taree, the youngest of three children born to Scott and Katherine Galloway. When Clarence was young the family moved to Newcastle, where he attended school and participated in the cadets. As a young man Clarence was active in the local Militia, and worked as a clerk for New South Wales Railways.

Clarence enlisted in the 34th Battalion, known as Maitland’s Own, in September 1916. He left Sydney on HMAS Beltana in November, arriving in England in January 1917.

After a period of training in England, Clarence joined his battalion in France. In October 1917 the 34th Battalion was engaged in the fighting at Passchendaele as part of the Third Battle of Ypres. The attack was disastrous, with heavy rain turning the battlefield into thick, clinging mud into which men simply disappeared. Every officer of the 34th Battalion became a casualty during the attack.

Clarence was wounded in the arm during the 34th’s second stint in the front lines, and was evacuated to hospital for treatment. He returned to his battalion in November, and in early December went through another period of training. In March 1918 he took leave to England for several weeks.

Clarence was killed a few weeks after his return to France. He was one of a group of soldiers resting in a billet at Cachy, near Villers-Bretonneux, when it was struck by German shell-fire. Clarence was killed instantly, along with seven others. He was 24 years old. The men were buried in a nearby orchard a few days later, and a service was held by the 36th Battalion padre, Reverend Lynch.

After the war Clarence’s body was moved to the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery. His family felt keenly the loss of their youngest son and brother. The Galloways placed memorial notices in their local paper on the anniversary of his death – one was signed by “his sorrowing father and mother”.

Clarence Galloway’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour to my right, along with the names of more than 60,000 other Australians who died fighting in the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

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

Dr Kate Ariotti
Historian, Military History Section