The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (WX23101) Sapper Alfred George Witt, 1st Training Battalion, Royal Australian Engineers, 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 Chris Widenbar, the story for this day was on (WX23101) Sapper Alfred George Witt, 1st Training Battalion, Royal Australian Engineers, Second World War.

WX23101 Sapper Alfred George Witt, 1st Training Battalion, Royal Australian Engineers
Killed in training accident 21 May 1945
Story delivered 4 January 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sapper Alfred George Witt.

Born in Pinjarra in the Peel region of Western Australia on Anzac Day, 25 April 1925, Alfred George Witt was the third son of Frederick and Ella Witt.
After completing his schooling, Witt was employed as a truck driver at the Nestles Milk Factory.

After enlisting the Australian Imperial Force in January 1945, Witt was posted to the 1st Training Battalion, Royal Australian Engineers, at the large Australian Army training base at Kapooka in New South Wales. In the afternoon of 21 May 1945, tragedy struck.

During a routine demolition training exercise on the preparation of hand charges, two groups were crowded in a dugout. One consisted of 22 trainees and two instructors, and the other of three men and their instructor. Inside the dugout, 110 pounds of explosives were stored for the day’s training exercise. In circumstances that remain unknown to this day, the explosives ignited. In the explosion, 24 men were killed instantly, two died of injuries shortly afterwards, and two more were severely injured.

Alfred Witt was one of those killed in the accident. He was 20 years old.

A mass funeral was held for the men in Wagga Wagga three days later. Thousands of people lined the route of the funeral parade. The 26 flag-draped coffins were carried on four army trucks. The cortege included over 100 military vehicles carrying members of the Army and Air Force. The dead were buried in the Wagga Wagga War Cemetery.

For many years after his death, Witt’s family posted notices in his memory in The West Australian newspaper. One, from his mother and father, read:
Short and sudden was the call
His death a shock to us all
'Tis sad, but true, we wonder why.
The best are always first to die

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sapper George Alfred Witt. His name is listed here on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sapper Alfred George Witt, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section