The Australian War Memorial in Canberra will be commemorating the service and sacrifice of Gundagai resident Trooper Robert Luff Isaac at the Last Post Ceremony on Friday 30 August 2024.
“Robert Isaac was born in Tumblong, near Gundagai NSW in March 1886. He was one of six children born to John Douglas Isaac and his wife Betsy,” Australian War Memorial historian Rachel Caines said.
“Known affectionately as Bobby, he attended Tumblong Public School and then worked as a farmer around the region.
“On 3 February 1915, Bobby and his older brother Jack enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force together and were assigned to the 12th Regiment of the Light Horse with the rank of trooper.
“On 28 August 1915, Bobbie, Jack and their Squadron arrived at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli and soon moved to the area around Lone Pine as part of D Squadron of the 7th Light Horse.
“On the morning of 29 September, Bobbie was hit in the chest by shrapnel when an Ottoman shell burst. Jack rushed to his brother’s side and Bobbie died in his arms a few seconds later. Trooper Robert Luff Isaac was 19 years old.
“Jack continued to serve with the Light Horse until he was wounded in May 1918, and returned to Gundagai in December 1918.
“The Isaac family continued to mark the anniversary of Bobbie’s death for many years and planted a tree in his honour in the Gundagai Anzac Park.”
The Last Post ceremony is held at 4.30 pm every day except Christmas Day in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial.
Each ceremony shares the story behind one of 103,000 names on the . To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 3,800 ceremonies, each featuring an individual story of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed on the Roll of Honour.
“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.
“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died. We also tell the stories of who they were when they were alive, and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.
“The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally it was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military. It is a fitting way to end each day at the Memorial.”
The Last Post Ceremony honouring the service of Trooper Robert Luff Isaac will be live streamed to the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page: .
The stories told at the Last Post Ceremony are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.
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