To recognise the dedication and professionalism of the four Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award recipients, who led the Wallabies in a last post ceremony at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Brettoneux in France, the Wallabies hosted the four at their Rugby World Cup match against Les Blues.
The ceremony was held for Gunner William Tasker, who played six matches for Australia before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force. He died fighting on the Western Front.
His story was just one of many learned during the Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award study tour of French and Belgian battlefields, from August 16 – 30.
The four junior leaders, recognised for upholding Army values, travelled from Paris to the Somme and Flanders Fields, visiting locations of Australian military significance, such as Villers-Bretonneux and Ypres.
Along the way, they were asked to give presentations about an Australian battle or VC action.
For some, like Jonathan Church ambassador Corporal Justin Wells, visiting the fields etched into Anzac history offered a new view into diggers’ lives.
“It drove home the point that there are Aussies buried there – soldiers – it’s not just a sea of headstones to commemorate a battle but a sea of graves, individuals who died,” Corporal Wells said.
For others, it was a chance to connect with their family’s little-known stories.
Private Wayne Drage stood on the spot where his great-grand uncle was wounded at Pozières, only to find out soon after that he had a second great-grand uncle who was killed and commemorated nearby.
Private Drage found his name at Tyne Cot, one of the largest cemeteries on the Western Front, where for every headstone there are hundreds more names inscribed on a wall.
“I had a real emotional connection to the tour,” the 31st/42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment rifleman said.
“There were so many names and many from the same families.
“It really showed how the entire country was ripped apart.”
As well as a ceremony at Villers-Bretonneux, the study tour joined the daily last post ceremony at Menin Gate in Ypres.
Once a common sight on cobbled Belgian streets, the slouch hat drew questions from locals and travellers alike, who recognised the Aussies by their distinctive brown Akubra with the raised brim and rising sun.
Corporal Dylan Curran offered his to Wallaby scrum-half Nick White, who was rested for the game against the French and came to the stands to say g’day.
Afterwards, the Jonathan Church recipients were invited down to the locker rooms.
Corporal Curran explained how important it was to him to give White his slouch hat.
“I wanted him to have it as a reminder of the experience we shared at the National Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux,” Corporal Curran said.
“He said he was going to keep it in the locker rooms and it would travel with the team.”
France were too good that night, but Corporal Michael Stoop said joining the Wallabies’ post-match tradition of giving a test cap to debutants was a fitting end to the battlefield tour.
“They got to see our traditions during the last post, and we got to see theirs,” Corporal Stoop said.
“This whole experience has made me proud to wear the uniform.”
Jonathan Church Good Soldering Award recipients take part in 12 months of activities, culminating in a battlefield study tour where leadership is examined through the lens of Australian military history.
