Able Seaman Leslie Laurence Hart was killed in action during World War II. Photo: Australian War Memorial.
The life of Leslie Laurence Hart began in the Canberra region before it was cut short in a kamikaze attack in the seas off the Philippines during World War II.
The Australian War Memorial now plans to commemorate the able seaman’s service and sacrifice at its Last Post Ceremony on Sunday (5 January), the 80th anniversary of the attack that claimed his life.
According to the War Memorial, Hart enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy in July 1943, trained for five months then joined the crew of HMAS Australia that December.
He was onboard the ship, which was covering the allied invasion of Luzon Island in the Philippines, on 5 January 1945, when it was hit by a kamikaze attack.
He was one of 25 crewmen killed in an explosion. He was 19 years old.
Australian War Memorial director Matt Anderson said Hart was born in Queanbeyan in NSW on 1 November 1925 and grew up with his parents and sister in Ainslie in the ACT.
He worked at the Department of Post-War Reconstruction after it was established in late 1942 before enlisting in the war effort.
The War Memorial says that Hart’s ship, HMAS Australia, was not only the first Allied ship to be attacked by Japan’s kamikaze pilots but was also hit the most often in such attacks.
The HMAS Australia approaches the Sydney Harbour Bridge during World War II. Photo: Australian War Memorial.
Kamikaze pilots first hit it in October 1944, then targeted it six more times.
Between 5 and 9 January 1945, HMAS Australia was subjected to repeated kamikaze attacks, including the one that killed Hart. This was the ship’s final action in the war.
While it never sunk, the attacks killed 87 members of its crew.
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. More than 3800 ceremonies have been delivered so far.
“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Mr Anderson said.
“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died, but 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 Hart at 4:30 pm on 5 January will be live-streamed to the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page.
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