The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX23059) Private Ewen Alexander Cameron, 2/17th Australian Infantry Battalion, 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 Greg Kimble, the story for this day was on (NX23059) Private Ewen Alexander Cameron, 2/17th Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

NX23059 Private Ewen Alexander Cameron, 2/17th Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA 25 October 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Ewen Alexander Cameron.

Ewen Cameron was born in Ulmarra, New South Wales, on 10 November 1914, the son of Samuel and Jane Cameron. His family later moved to Roseville, a northern suburb of Sydney, and after finishing school he worked as a clerk at a trustee company in Sydney’s central business district.

In 1934, Cameron volunteered for service in a militia unit, the 30th/51st Battalion, and remained in the unit for eight months. He joined the army again in April 1939, before volunteering for overseas service in May 1940.

Known as “Ukie” to his fellow soldiers, Cameron joined the 2nd/17th Australian Infantry Battalion. He trained with this unit in Australia for several months before embarking at Sydney for the Middle East. After a six-day stopover in India, the unit arrived in Palestine and began training. Once in the Middle East, Cameron qualified as a signaller and was assigned to the signal platoon of the unit’s headquarters.

In March 1941, Cameron’s battalion moved to Libya, east of Tripoli, to relieve Allied units there. Unexpectedly for the Allies, large numbers of German troops and vehicles soon began arriving at Tripoli to reinforce the Italian units already in the area. The Allies were forced to retreat eastwards to the port city of Tobruk.

The conditions of the retreat lowered the morale of the men of the 2nd/17th Battalion. The unit diary records the cold of the nights, and the miserable state of the men, who wanted to stand and fight against the advancing Italian and German forces. By early April, the battalion had made it to Tobruk. There, they successfully fought off a heavy initial attack by Axis forces, and the resulting siege lasted for over eight months. In October, the Australians were relieved by the 70th British Division.

During the first half of 1942, the 2nd/17th Battalion moved to Syria and Lebanon to continue training. Cameron became an infantry despatch rider, a role that required him to traverse long distances on a motorcycle, carrying messages from headquarters to the battalion’s four company commanders. Despatch riders were vital to the unit’s communications, but they were often exposed to enemy fire, especially from aircraft.

In July, the battalion travelled to Alexandria, Egypt, and from there deployed west of the city in readiness for a showdown with the Axis forces.

The British-led Allies took up positions around the tiny desert locality of El Alamein. Following their withdrawal from Libya, the Allies defended a line between the Mediterranean Sea in the north and the impassable Qattara Depression in the desert to the south. The 9th Australian Division, of which the 2nd/17th Battalion was a member, was on the right flank of the Allied position, on the coast. The division was involved in some fighting during July and September, but Cameron’s battalion was not involved.

In October 1942, preparation began in earnest for an Allied attack. The men of the 2nd/17th Battalion trained alongside tanks and anti-tank guns, so that they knew how to work together on the battlefield. There was still time for recreation, though, and the battalion diary notes that the men played cricket and held a surfing carnival.

In late October, during the Second Battle of El Alamein, the battalion took part in the attack against enemy positions. The unit came under heavy artillery and machine gun fire over several days. On 25 October 1942, Cameron was struck by shell fragments and killed instantly. He was 27 years old.

Ewen Cameron’s remains lie buried in El Alamein War Cemetery in Egypt, alongside more than 7,000 graves of Commonwealth service people who died in the Western Desert campaigns.

His name is listed 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 Private Ewen Alexander Cameron, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section