The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (80) Private Charles Alfred Gibbs, 35th 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 Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (80) Private Charles Alfred Gibbs, 35th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

80 Private Charles Alfred Gibbs, 35th Battalion, AIF
KIA 6 March 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Charles Alfred Gibbs.

Charles Gibbs, known as “Alf”, was born in 1894 to Herbert and Emma Gibbs of Lambton, New South Wales. He came from a musical family, his father serving as organist for the Lambton Baptist Church for more than a decade, and his grandfather was well-known as the leader of the Lambton Brass Band. Alf Gibbs grew up in Lambton, and went on to work as a labourer in the district.

He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in March 1916, putting his age up by two years to ensure his acceptance. Before being sent overseas, he married Mary Ann Slott, of nearby Wallsend. Alf Gibbs was posted to the 35th Battalion, known as “Newcastle’s Own”, and after a period of training in Australia left on board the troopship Benalla in May 1916.

Private Gibbs was first sent to England, where he continued training on Salisbury Plain before being sent to fight on the Western Front in November 1916. He arrived at the start of the coldest winter seen in northern France for decades, and spent several bitterly cold months rotating in and out of the front line with his battalion.

Gibbs wrote home early in the new year, noting that he expected to “be again in the firing line within a few days … the weather was extremely cold and they were experiencing falls of snow.” He spoke hopefully of the outcome of the war, which he hoped would see an Allied victory.

In March 1917 the 35th Battalion was in the front line near the town of Armentieres. The front line was under intermittent German shelling throughout the day, and the battalions of the 9th Brigade were active in sending out patrols during the night.

At some point during 6 March 1917, Private Alf Gibbs was killed in action. No record remains of the manner of his death, although Dolph Adamson later wrote that he had been in the front line at the same time as Alf Gibbs, and he had carried Gibbs back from the line after he was wounded. Adamson was killed at Messines three months later, and so this report was unconfirmed.

The Reverend J.W. Dains, a Methodist chaplain serving at the front, later wrote to Mary Gibbs in Australia to say, “I deeply sympathise with you … Your husband played the organ for me at my service on the Monday afternoon, and was coming to my Bible class on the Wednesday evening, but higher Hands interposed, and on Tuesday night he fell … He was very popular with his comrades, and those who knew him best feel his loss keenly.”

The Reverend Dains buried Alf Gibbs in the Cité Bon Jean Cemetery shortly after his death. Alf Gibbs was 23 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in 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 Private Charles Alfred Gibbs, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section