The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (QX16167) Private George Hockley Ellwood, 2/31st Battalion, 2nd AIF, Second 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 (QX16167) Private George Hockley Ellwood, 2/31st Battalion, 2nd AIF, Second World War.

QX16167 Private George Hockley Ellwood, 2/31st Battalion, 2nd AIF
DOW 25 June 1941
Photograph: P09317.002

Story delivered 19 March 2017

Today we pay tribute to Private George Hockley Ellwood.

Born on 15 January 1919 in Stanthorpe, a small town in south-east Queensland, George Ellwood was the son of Edgar and Maude Ellwood. He grew up in nearby Applethorpe, and following his schooling was employed as a traveller purchasing engineering supplies for a Brisbane firm.

On 18 February 1941 Ellwood enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force. He marched in to camp and began his training in Queensland before embarking in Sydney for overseas service that April.

Arriving in the Middle East in early May, Ellwood was posted to the 2/31st Battalion, part of the 25th Brigade of the Australian 7th Division. Previously based in Britain, the battalion had only recently arrived in the Middle East, where it had taken up garrison duties in Palestine before moving to Egypt. It returned to Palestine at the end of May to take part in the 25th Brigade’s first offensive operation: the invasion of Vichy French Syria and Lebanon.

The 2/31st Battalion’s first major engagement in eastern Lebanon was around Khirbe in early June. It then captured the town of Jezzine, which controlled one of the lateral routes to the coast, despite heavy counter-attacks by the Vichy French. The terrain around Jezzine was steep and rugged and the fighting was exhausting.

It was during the fighting around the town of Jezzine on 25 June 1941 that Ellwood was fatally wounded. His body was buried in the British and Commonwealth War Cemetery at Beirut, Lebanon. He was 22.

George Ellwood’s name is listed here on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second 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 Private George Hockley Ellwood, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section