In an interview with Today, Marles recounted his 2022 visit to Pozières, guided by a local historian, to the very site where his grandfather earned the Military Cross for exceptional bravery.

“At first I thought it was a joke… but as he started talking through the battle I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is really it’,” Marles said.

“By the time he finished speaking, I was in tears, the chief of the defence force was in tears…

“He was a young man who was faced with just the most terrifying moment: a retreat, as the Germans had basically pierced the line.

“It’s an enormous moment of pride for me but to be there and to see it was incredible.”

The Battle of Pozières was a significant and fierce part of the Somme offensive during World War I, resulting in 23,000 Australian casualties, including 6800 fatalities, within just weeks of intense fighting.

Marles said his grandfather seldom spoke about his time at war.

“This is a man I knew, I can remember sitting with grandpa watching the cricket so I have memories with this person.

“This is not a distant figure whose name is only in history, it’s a person who I share memories with in my own life.

“I never saw him in the context of someone who fought in war. He didn’t like talking about it.”

He said he understood the outrage felt across the country but did not want to give airtime to the “appalling” act.

”I was here this morning and witnessed it and I absolutely feel that sense of outrage and I know that people in the crowd did today as well.

“It is a small number of people, and you know what, we should not be giving them airtime.

“Today was a beautiful service.”