The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1824) Private James Ashton Taylor, 3rd 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 (1824) Private James Ashton Taylor, 3rd Battalion AIF, First World War.

1824 Private James Ashton Taylor, 3rd Battalion AIF
KIA 07 August 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private James Ashton Taylor.

James Taylor was born in 1891 in Condobolin, New South Wales. He was the son of citrus farmer James Ashton Taylor Senior and his wife Annie. He received his education at Galston Public School alongside his only brother, Harold. In his youth his father trained him as an orchardist which was his profession at the outbreak of war in 1914.

Taylor enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the 5th of January 1915, in Liverpool New South Wales. He was assigned to the 4th reinforcements of the 3rd Battalion which embarked from Sydney on board the troopship Shropshire on 17 March 1915.

Private Taylor arrived on the Gallipoli peninsula at the end of May 1915, during a lull in the fighting which followed the landing on 25 April. During that time, life in the front lines was characterised by occasional sniper fire and raids as the allies attempted to defend ground taken the month before. Private Taylor’s quiet introduction to the front endured until August when the allies attempted a second offensive to push further towards their objectives.

The 1st Australian Infantry Brigade was tasked with attacking Turkish defensive positions at an area known as Lone Pine in early August 1915. The attack was planned as part of a diversion to cover Anzac units attacking positions at Chunuk Bair and Hill 971. In the early hours of the morning of the 6th of August 1915, the 3rd Battalion, with Private James Taylor amongst them, charged Turkish defensive positions at Lone Pine.

As they reached the Turkish lines, advancing troops were encountered trenches that had been covered by pine logs, offering protection to the enemy and severely hindering the Australian advance. Troops were forced to break through the log roof, often engaging the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

Taylor’s comrade, Private Brian Doherty, who was wounded on the first day at Lone Pine, wrote of the attack: “The good old 3rd suffered heavily and I don’t know how many of my mates have gone … I can’t even describe the battle as it was just hell let loose; shells, shrapnel and rifle fire, bombs and machine guns all going at once and we charged right into the middle of it.”

Though the main objective was taken within 20 minutes, four days of intense fighting followed, costing more than 2,000 Australian casualties. It was at some point during this attack that Private James Taylor went missing. Information received by Taylor’s family about his whereabouts was conflicting, and was drawn out over a number of months. His mother Annie wrote numerous letters to Base Records in Melbourne, and placed several notices in the newspapers, hoping for some information as to the fate of her eldest son.

An investigation of Taylor’s fate began, attracting testimonies from his comrades who reported sightings of the young private. In December 1915, Private Wilkinson of the 3rd Battalion claimed that Taylor was killed beside him in the trenches during the battle at Lone Pine. Just months later, in February 1916, two more members of the 3rd Battalion claimed they had seen Private Taylor working at AIF Headquarters in London in September 1915, having lost his eye during the fighting at Gallipoli.

The conflicting information provided about the fate of Private Taylor resulted in a court of enquiry being held in mid-1916. The enquiry determined that he was killed in action during the charge at Lone Pine, probably on 7 August 1915. Private James Taylor’s final resting place was never located; instead he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial among more than four thousand others with no known grave. He was just 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 James Ashton Taylor, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section