The Very First ANZAC Day, Brisbane 1916
The very first Anzac Day was held in Brisbane in 1916 and the commemoration was adopted across the country a year later.
ANZAC Day’s First Bugler
The man who played the Last Post on that Anzac Day was named Herbert (a.k.a. “Jerry”) Barnes.
He later worked for Brisbane City Council and retired to Raymond Terrace in New South Wales.
“Brisbane’s V for Victory”
“VICTORY SIGNS: ‘I think this ‘V’ sign is going to be of tremendous importance throughout the civilised world,’ said the Lord Mayor (Alderman Chandler) when unfurling the ‘”V” for Victory Flag above the main entrance of the Brisbane City Hall yesterday. The ceremony was witnessed by 1000 people. After the unfurling Bugler Sergeant Jerry Barnes, of the City Council staff, sounded the ‘Reveille.’ Alderman Chandler said that the flag was designed, with a blue ‘”V” on a white background. The ‘V’ stood for victory and the white for peace, which we would obtain with victory. He paid tribute to the Australian fighting forces, particularly the men at Tobruk. ‘We must do everything possible to help them no matter how hard the work or the sacrifice,’ he said.
Left: Victory signs are appearing in London, too. The ‘V’ dominates the costume adopted by this London war-time woman commissionaire.”
ANZAC Medal
Following his death in 1967, his grandson, Neville Stead applied to the army for the Anzac medal (see page 9 of the service record attached). Neville lived on 8 Anne Street, Raymond Terrace.
Herbert “Jerry” Barnes Service Record (Courtesy National Archives Australia) 5.2MB PDF File
Search for Herbert “Jerry” Barnes’ Raymond Terrace Family Connections
The Archivists at the Brisbane City Council are searching for his family descendants in Raymond Terrace New South Wales. They are interested to know about his connection to the first Anzac Day held in Brisbane in 1916.
If anyone knows of the Barnes/Stead family of Raymond Terrace please get in touch, as we would like to make the historic connection with a personality very important to Brisbane, as well as the ANZAC Commemoration’s history.
In the words of Annabel Lloyd, City Archivist, Brisbane City Council:
This year’s Anzac post focuses on Sergeant “Jerry” Barnes, who had the honour of playing The Last Post on his bugle at the first Anzac Day ceremony in 1916. He also performed for Armistice Day in 1918 and again on Victory Day to mark the end of the War in the Pacific in 1946.
Jerry’s story came to light during research for my previous post on Merv Wilson. He had applied for the Information Officer’s position, the file for which is held in the Archives collection. His application provides valuable insight into both his Anzac connections and his employment with Council. Like many returned servicemen, Jerry was engaged by Council on a casual basis, undertaking general City Hall duties such as cleaning and lift attendant. As no formal employment records survive for these roles, it was sheer luck that his job application confirmed both his employment and duties.
Significantly, his application revealed that “Jerry” was a nickname, and his given name was Herbert. This discovery enabled me to locate his digitised First World War service record held by the National Archives of Australia—a reminder of the richness and accessibility of this resource for anyone researching former service personnel in their family.
If anyone can help us locate the descendants of Herbert Barnes, we would be greatly appreciative.
Zane Metcalfe,
Archivist, Brisbane City Council