The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (584) Trooper Jack Frederick James Wentford, 2nd 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (584) Trooper Jack Frederick James Wentford, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.


The recording for this Ceremony is damaged and not suitable for release to public.

584 Trooper Jack Frederick James Wentford, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, AIF
DOW 21 May 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 14 April 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Trooper Jack Frederick James Wentford.

Jack Wentford – sometimes known as “Mick” – was born on 11 April 1890, the third son of John and Minnie Wentford of Mackay, Queensland. His parents had migrated to Australia in the early 1880s, John from England, and Minnie from Ireland. Jack’s father worked transporting goods for a number of large companies in Mackay, and the family was well known in the district.

Wentford became a fireman on the railways, and served for many years in the local light horse regiment. He was a prominent member of the local football club and played in inter-city matches in Mackay and Charters Towers. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force within weeks of the outbreak of war in 1914. Unusually for someone with his military experience, he did not apply for a commission but was posted to the 2nd Light Horse Regiment with the rank of trooper. He underwent a brief period of training in Australia before being sent to Egypt to begin his overseas service.

Wentford thoroughly enjoyed his time in Egypt. Many men in his regiment were also from Mackay, so Jack was surrounded by friends, which broke the drudgery of bayonet practice and route marches. He wrote chatty letters home describing donkey races and sharing cigarettes. On one occasion he wrote that he “was feeling a bit off colour one day and did not go out to drill”, but went out for a ride on his mate’s transport wagon. Although he was punished for this, he added that the break had been “all the cure I wanted. Ever since I have recommended to anybody that is ill a ride with our local lad.”

Trooper Wentford was eager to get to the front, writing, “we hope to give a good account of ourselves in the firing line. ‘When will we get there?’ is the never ending cry of the lads.” Their chance came in May 1915, when the 2nd Light Horse Regiment was sent unmounted to Gallipoli to reinforce the infantry.

Arriving on 12 May 1915, the regiment soon made an attack on German positions near Quinn’s Post, suffering around 50 casualties. One of those wounded was Trooper Wentford, who had been struck in the thigh, probably by a Turkish bomb. He was evacuated to a hospital in Egypt, where he succumbed to his wounds six days later.

Wentford was buried in the Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery in Alexandria. Back home his death was noted in the local paper:

A big, daring good-hearted Australian, it looks only like yesterday that he raced on board the [boat], just as the little vessel was leaving the wharf, full of rude health and patriotic ardour to take his place in the army of Britain’s defenders.

Wentford Street in Mackay was named in Jack’s honour. He was 25 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died during the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Trooper Jack Frederick James Wentford, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section