- Roy Longmore
Infobox Military Person
name= Roy Longmore
lived= birth date|1894|04|29 - death date|2001|06|21
placeofbirth= Banockburn, Victoria
placeofdeath=Melbourne, Victoria
caption= Private Roy Longmore c.1915
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|AustraliaAustralia
serviceyears=July 13 ,1915 -March 16 ,1919
rank=Lance Sergeant (LSgt)
branch=Australian Army Australian Imperial Force (AIF),
- 3rd Reinforcements, 21st Battalion
- 2nd Pioneer Battalion
commands=
battles=World War I
*Battle of Gallipoli
*Battle of Pozières
*Battle of Armentières
*Battle of Villers-Bretonneux.
awards=1914-15 Star British War Medal
Victory Medal80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal Centenary Medal Legion d'Honneur (France)
laterwork=taxi driver Roy Longmore (
29 April ,1894 –21 June ,2001 ) was an Australian centenarian, and one of the last two living veterans of theAustralian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) serving inWorld War I . [http://www.auspost.com.au/download/bull_254.pdf "Australia Day: Australian Legends,"] "Stamp Bulletin" (Australia Post), p. 3.]ANZAC soldier
Longmore set aside his life as a farm-hand in
Geelong, Victoria , when he enlisted in theAustralian Imperial Force at age 21. Private (Pte) Roy Longmore, 3rd Reinforcements, 21st Battalion, of Bannockburn, Victoria enlisted on July 13, 1915; and he embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT "Anchises" on August 26, 1915.Australian War Memorial: [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 Pte. Lognmore, Photo Id DA10145, September 1915] ] After training in Egypt, was sent to theBattle of Gallipoli where he was a tunnel digger with the 2nd Division, burrowing underneath the Turkish positions and laying mines. After evacuation fromTurkey , he fought at Pozières, Armentières, and Villers-Bretonneux. [see above] ] He was wounded three times in France and was momentarily given up for dead when he was shot as theArmistice in November 1918, approached. He later recalled, :"We were patrolling in a gully when suddenly half a dozen Germans appeared over a hill armed with machine guns and opened fire. Jerry riddled me, knocking me flat on my back, and the last I heard was 'Longy's had it, they got him.'" Fortunately, his fellow soldiers saw him move and rescued him.Goldstein, Richard. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E7D61339F931A35754C0A9679C8B63&scp=7&sq=New+Zealand+anzac&st=nyt "Roy Longmore Dies; Australian 'Legend,' 107,"] "New York Times." July 2, 2001.] Lance Sergeant (LSgt) and returned to Australia on March 16, 1919 as a member of the 2nd Pioneer Battalion. [see above] ]Civilian life
After returning to Australia in 1919, his injuries made returning to farm work impossible, so he drove a taxi in Melbourne. Another changed caused by the war was more telling. Before, he had hunted rabbits; but he later explained that when he returned home, he no longer had an appetite for firing at anything alive. [see above] ]
Longmore married and had one son, Eric. [see above] ] The one-time LSgt Longmore died peacefully in his sleep at a Burwood Nursing Home aged 107 on June 21, 2001. He was the second last Anzac to die. [see above] ] At his passing, Australia honored him one final time with a
state funeral . [see above] ]Australian "legend"
In 2000, Longmore was recognized as one of the "
Australian Legends ." His name and photograph were honored as part of an annual series of commemorativepostage stamp s issued byAustralia Post since 1997. The stamps commemorate living Australians "who have made lifetime contributions to the development of Australia's national identity and character" [Australia Post: [http://www.auspost.com.au/BCP/0,1467,CH4444%257EMO19,00.html "Racing Legends are first past the post,"] 2007.] . Longmore lived to fully enjoy this honor. [see above] ]Longmore's 45-cent Legend stamp displays the soldier's portrait as a young man, photographed just prior to his departure for Gallipoli. Formal photographs of the other two ANZAC centenarians complete this stamp set. In addition, a fourth stamp features the 1914-15 star medal which was presented to all those who fought in campaigns during those war years.Australia Post: [http://www.auspost.com.au/BCP/0,1467,CH3007%257EMO19,00.html "Previous Australia Post Australian Legends,"] 2005.] These stamps, designed by Cathleen Cram of the Australia Post Design Studio, commemorate the story of events and people shaping contemporary Australia. [ [http://www1.auspost.com.au/priority/index.asp?area=features&article_id=707&issue_id=33 "156 years collecting Australian graphic art,"] "Priority" (Australia Post), 2000.] The Longmore stamp honors him as an individual and as a representative of all 68,000 soldiers at Gallipoli whose actions affected Australia's evolving self-image. [Australia Post: [http://www.auspost.com.au/philatelic/stamps/index.asp?link_id=2.70 "Stamp Bulletin Online No. 254: Australian Legends - The Last Anzacs,"] January 21, 2000.]
Medals and honors
*
1914-15 Star
*British War Medal
*Victory Medal (UK)
*80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal , 1999 (Australia). [see above] ]
*Centenary Medal (Australia)
*Legion d'Honneur , 1998 (France). [see above] ]* Australia Post Australian Legends Award, 2000. [see above] ]
ee also
*
Alec Campbell , last living Anzac
* Walter Parker, one of the last three living Anzacs to have served at Gallipoli
*Veterans of the First World War who died in 2001 References
External links
* "Australia Day: Australian Legends," [http://www.auspost.com.au/download/bull_254.pdf "Stamp Bulletin" (Australia Post).] No. 254. March-May 2000.
* "156 years collecting Australian graphic art," [http://www1.auspost.com.au/priority/index.asp?issue_id=33 "Priority" (Australia Post).] Issue 32, 2000.
*Australian War Memorial (AWM): [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 Photo of Pte. Longmore, ID DA10145] , September 1915.
* AWM: Photo of Longmore's military decorations
** 1914-1915 Star (AWM: [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 ID REL30869.001] ).
** British War Medal 1914-1920 (AWM: [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 Pte. ID REL30869.002] ).
** Victory Medal (AWM: [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 ID REL30869.003] ).
** 80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal (AWM: [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 ID REL30869.004] ).
** Centenary Medal (AWM: [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 ID REL30869.005] ).
** Gallipoli Star (AWM: [http://cas.awm.gov.au/TST2/cst.acct_master?surl=720103172ZZZCAQXTKOAVE29179&stype=3&simplesearch=&v_umo=&v_product_id=&screen_name=&screen_parms=&screen_type=RIGHT&bvers=5&bplatform=Netscape&bos=Win32 ID REL30869.006] ).
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
