Daryl Wallis, Great Nephew of Arthur William Wallis, Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times

In early March this year, relatives of Arthur William Wallis travelled to the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, to witness and participate in a respectful and moving service acknowledging Arthur’s life and sacrifice made for his country.

At the daily closing of the War Memorial each evening, one fallen soldier named on the Roll of Honour has their story shared at the Last Post Ceremony. Friday the 7th of March was the date allocated to Sergeant Arthur William Wallis after an application was submitted by a direct relative of his, some 18 months prior.

At 4:30 pm the ceremony began in the Commemorative Courtyard with the singing of the Australian National Anthem which was followed by the piper’s lament.

During the playing of the lament, nine of Arthur’s great nieces and nephews in attendance laid five floral wreaths at the Pool of Reflection, near a stand displaying a photo of Arthur in uniform. Each wreath represented one of Arthur’s siblings being John (Jack), Margaret Ann, Alfred (Dan), Florence Christina (Mrs. Irvine Rideout) and Alexander Charles Wallis.

Arthur’s story was then read to all assembled in the Courtyard by a serving officer of the Australian Defence Force.

The Australian War Memorial research department composed an accurate and informative eulogy of Arthur’s life and untimely death in France. Their research revealed more of his service and of the circumstances leading to his death than living family members knew of.

To close the service, the Ode was recited by Australian Defence Force personnel and the Last Post was sounded.

The relatives of Arthur Wallis and their family members in attendance at the service were truly moved by the sincere and respectful presentation and by the compassion and professionalism shown by the Memorial staff and Defence Force personnel participating.

We would highly recommend to anyone with a fallen soldier from any theatre of war that Australia has been involved in, that they make an application to the War Memorial for a similar service to Arthur’s.

Information about the service and the application form can be accessed from the AWM website, awm.gov.au/commemorate/last post ceremony. The helpful staff at the Memorial can help fill the gaps if you don’t have all your soldier’s details at hand.

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Arthur William Wallis.

Emily Hyles, Curator, MHS 

Arthur Wallis was born at Kaniva, Victoria, on the 17th of May 1889.

He was the third of six children born to Arthur Richard Wallis and Margaret McInnes. His father died when Arthur was seven, and he and his brothers continued to work on the family property, raising merino sheep and horses. Arthur later moved to Bendigo and worked as an auctioneer for his uncle’s pastoralist firm.

Arthur Wallis enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the 2nd of February 1916 and joined the newly raised 38th Infantry Battalion. On the 20th of June, Wallis embarked for active service from Melbourne on the troopship Runic. The men disembarked in England at Plymouth on the 10th of August, and went to Lark Hill Camp on the Salisbury Plain to continue training. On the 22nd of November 1916, Wallis and his unit proceeded overseas to France as a bitterly cold winter began to set in.

Arriving at Le Havre, they travelled by train to Strazeele before marching into their billets. Armentières, on the border of France and Belgium, was known as the nursery sector, a relatively quiet place to which fresh troops were usually sent to gain experience on the Western Front.

They moved into the trenches on the lst of December. The very next day Wallis was taken to a field hospital. His condition was not specified, but in the inescapable cold, many men were sick with sore throats, colds and trench fever. Returning to his unit, he was made Lance Corporal on the 13th of December, and full Corporal the next day.

It was not long before the 38th Battalion experienced a full-scale enemy bombardment. On the 13th of January they were hit by high explosive, shrapnel and mortar fire. A dozen men were killed and wounded, and their trenches were greatly damaged.

On January 26th, Arthur was made Sergeant. Just a few days later, two companies of the 38th Battalion and two of the 37th undertook specialist training to form a composite Raiding Battalion. On the evening of the 30th of January, 1917, in the sector just south of Armentières, a composite raiding party of eight officers and 216 men in three groups waited in the dark. After an opening artillery diversion, the three parties, including men of the 38th Battalion, rushed forward.

Sergeant Arthur Wallis was probably a member of the party on the right. They came under direct machine-gun fire at very close range, and all but five of this group were killed. The Left Party were unable to find a gap in the wire and were driven back. The Central Party was made up entirely of soldiers from the 37th Battalion. Early on the 31st of January 1917, Sergeant Arthur Wallis was recorded as killed in action. He was 27 years old. Wallis was buried by his comrades near where he fell.

In May of that year his remains were exhumed and re-buried at the Military Cemetery in Armentières, with an army padre presiding. His mother Margaret chose the inscription for his headstone:

‘Have mercy upon him, Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him.’

Arthur’s brother Alexander also served in the First World War, and returned home.

Arthur Wallis’ 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.

His photograph is displayed today by the Pool of Reflection.

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

This article appeared in Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 23 April 2025.