The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (416) Private Harold Gordon Craig, 6th 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (416) Private Harold Gordon Craig, 6th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

416 Private Harold Gordon Craig, 6th Battalion, AIF
DOW 8 August 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Harold Gordon Craig.

Harold Craig, known as “Gordon”, was born in 1884, the youngest son of James and Mary Craig of the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn. His father was a merchant in Dunolly who later worked as a grain merchant in Queen Street. He died in 1902, when Gordon was 16 years old. Craig began his schooling locally, and completed his education at Scotch College in 1899. He would retain ties to the school after leaving, and was a member of the Old Scotch Collegians Club.

He went on to work as a clerk for W.H. Blackham, a well-known produce merchant in King Street, Melbourne, and was a keen sportsman, playing for the Hawthorn Football Club and well-known as a member of the St. Kilda Yacht Club.

Gordon Craig enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force shortly after the outbreak of war in August 1914. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas two months later. Arriving in Egypt, the 6th Battalion continued training in the desert in what the men would find out later was preparation for the landing on Gallipoli.

Private Gordon Craig later wrote a letter explaining, “One day we were told to get our kids ready, and were given 50 rounds of ammunition, and when we had our packs on the weight must have been about 150 pounds.” The men marched 12 miles into Cairo, from where they caught trains and then troopships to the island of Lemnos. Then, one night about midnight, they sailed for Gallipoli.

The 6th Battalion formed part of the second wave of the landing at Anzac Cove. Private Craig was still on the troopship when the first Australians reached the short. He wrote “about 4am I heard a gun burst over our heads, so went below – wasn’t taking any risks. We had breakfast, and then started to disembark.” Craig described rowing ashore, writing “the shrapnel was bursting all round us – also the machine guns and rifle shot. We lost a lot of men before we landed, but our boat got safely ashore. The naval officer in our boat – a big fat chap – when the shrapnel burst within a yard of us, laughed, and said: “oh, never mind them, the beggars couldn’t hit a haystack … Well, we landed. We marched about 100 yards and then took a rest, and then word came to go up into the firing line at once. We threw our packs away, and then got on with the game”.

Not long after reaching the front line, Private Craig was shot through the arm while sniping at some Turks. He made his way down to the beach, where his wounds were dressed and he was evacuated on a hospital ship. He spent a few weeks in hospital in Cairo, returning to his battalion on Gallipoli in mid-June 1915.

After an extended period of defending the front line, the Anzac force on Gallipoli was called on to take part in a series of operations designed to mask a major British landing to the north of Anzac Cove at Suvla Bay. The 6th Battalion would take part in the battle of Lone Pine.

Launched on 6 August 1915, the battle of Lone Pine saw vicious hand-to-hand fight over several days. The attacking Australians found the Turkish trenches they were to occupy covered with pine logs. After ripping them up by hand under fire, they engaged the enemy in the trenches beneath for the next four days before successfully holding the position.

After the battle, Private Gordon Craig was found to be missing in action. An investigation revealed that he had been shot in the mouth possibly the day after the attack at Lone Pine began. He was taken to a hospital ship and evacuated from Gallipoli.

Despite persistent rumours that Craig had been seen in Alexandria or that his wounds were not “too serious,” Craig had not left the hospital ship Dunluce Castle. His lower jaw shattered, he had died of his wounds under care of the doctors on 8 August 1915. He was buried at sea that same day.

Today Gordon Craig is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial on Gallipoli. He was 30 years old.

In 1915, Private Gordon Craig wrote to the family of a friend killed in action at Krithia. His final words to the Pozzi family reflect the manner in which he wanted to be remembered: “He met his death as every honourable man might wish; that is, fighting for his king and country.”
Private Gordon Craig’s 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 Harold Gordon Craig, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section