The Australian War Memorial in Canberra will commemorate the service and sacrifice of Northampton resident Private William Keating at the Last Post Ceremony on Wednesday 11 June.
"William Keating, known as Willie, was born at Northampton, WA in 1891, one of seven surviving children of James Edward and Mary Ann Keating," Australian War Memorial historian Michael Kelly said.
"Keating was raised in Geraldton and attended the local school. By the time the First World War began, he was working as a horse driver."
Keating enlisted for service in the Australian Imperial Force at Blackboy Hill on 18 July 1915. His battalion arrived in France in June 1916.
Keating was killed in action on 20 July at the Battle of Fromelles, Australia's worst 24 hours of battle. He was 24 years old.
His younger brother Private Thomas Keating was killed in action in Belgium in October 1917, aged 20.
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 Roll of Honour. To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 4,100 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 Private William Keating will be live streamed to the Australian War Memorial's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/awmlastpost.
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.
HANDOUT image: www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1267938
