Lest we forget

On 18 November 1921 a large and well-attended ceremony was held in the small town of Avoca in central Victoria to dedicate a memorial which had been erected in the main street to the soldiers of Avoca and district who had served in the Great War.

The memorial, initially conceived as a band rotunda, was an irregular octagon with eight piers carrying a roof obscured by a parapet. A frieze above the columns gives the names of the main areas where volunteers from Avoca fought: Gallipoli, France, Palestine, and Belgium. Low walls on four sides have a soldier’s helmet and pack sculptured in high relief. The entrances on the other sides are guarded by freestanding granite tablets inscribed with names of some of the soldiers from the district who fought in the First World War. The tablet on the northern side of the memorial records the names of some of those who died.

The Avoca memorial was intended to commemorate only those soldiers from the South Riding and from Percydale, but by early 1921 the town of Homebush was declining rapidly, and had lost so many of its residents that the Homebush Memorial Fund asked to join the Avoca fund. As a result, in addition to those from the South Riding and Percydale, the names of soldiers from Homebush were also intended to be included.

In theory perhaps, it should have been a straightforward matter to list the all the names of soldiers from these three places on the Memorial. In practice it was not so simple, and to this day, the names of many men who should be recorded there are missing from the Avoca memorial's granite tablets.

Although a memorial to the town's soldiers had been discussed for many years, the lists of names for the memorial appear to have been prepared in a hurry and were shockingly incomplete. In a letter to the "Avoca Mail" published on 19 November 1918, Councillor Arthur Paten, Honorary Secretary of the Memorial Committee, requested parents, relatives, or friends of soldiers from the South Riding of the Shire of Avoca and from the Percydale portion of the North Riding who had been on active service to forward him their name, rank, decoration, and whether killed. A list would be prepared and 'it was desired that the list be a complete one'. On 23 July 1921 a small sub-committee met to discuss names to be included on the memorial. A list of soldiers from Natte Yallock had been supplied by G. Cain, a farmer. Robert Robinson, who had served with the AIF, supplied a list of soldiers from Percydale. Names for Avoca and Homebush were compiled by Canon Reynolds, Vicar of the Church of England, Avoca, who was secretary of the local Progress Association, and Mr William Helliar, a farmer from Natte Yallock.
Perhaps a complete list could have been prepared from this information, but the attempt to produce it was compromised by bad planning, bureaucratic incompetence, and petty in-fighting between various
committees and local groups. The result was that only half the names that should be on the memorial are actually inscribed there.

This disgraceful treatment of Avoca and district soldiers has never been put right. The Avoca branch of the Returned and Services League, which boasts that "We foster respect and thanks from the nation for all those who have made sacrifices in Australia’s name...", has long known that the memorial is incomplete.

In less than a hundred years, 'Lest we forget' has become 'We have forgotten'.

Below is a list of 312 men associated with the Avoca district who served in the Great War. Only 137 of them are listed on the Avoca Soldiers’ Memorial.

Name	AIF Number	Killed or wounded?	Returned	Avoca Soldiers' Memorial
Anderson, Neil Watson	2281	Wounded May 1915	RTA 8.1.19	Listed
Armstong, Henry Martin	5647		RTA 18.1.19	Listed
Armstrong, James
Auld, Andrew	2121		RTA 18.1.19 Dis 24.4.19	Fallen
Bailey, George	6232		Dis 13.10.19
Bannister, Arthur William	3016A		Dis 28.8.19
Barnes, George Herbert	3118		KIA 10.9.17
Barnes, Henry William (Harry) - ? Should be Henry James	2790		KIA 14-16.8.16
Barnes, Hurtle Edgar	2459
Barnes, Walter	410		RTA 15.1.19
Barry, George
Barry, Roderick Ernest	61825		RTA 25.9.19	Listed
Beavis, James Sutherland (Jas Jun.)	Lieut 22	died of wounds, France 13/7/1918	DOW 13.7.18	Fallen
Beavis, John (Jack S.)	3691		RTA 18.1.19 Dis 15.5.19	Listed
Beer, Charles	3029	KIA, France, 27/3/1918	KIA 27.3.18	Fallen
Bennett, Donald	Major
Blackney, John Ernest	Lieut 2950		Dis June 18
Blain, John	Depot 2109		RTA 24.6.16	Listed
Bonsor, Vivian
Bowen, Leslie Francis	3615		RTA 6.9.19 Dis 18.11.19	Listed
Bowen, William Henry	1623
Bradley, Herbert James (Bert)	6477	wounded & invalided home	RTA 21.7.18	Listed
Brazil, Frank Edward	1884		RTA 2.1.19	Listed
Brereton, Charles Cecil	170		details not on nominal roll (AWM 133)	Listed
Brereton, William Gordon (Gordon)	1787		RTA 20.5.19 Dis 16.8.19	Listed
Bright, James Frederick	13684		RTA 9.12.18
Broadbent, J.
Brown, H. (Herbert / Bert)	3697		RTA 1.5.19	Listed
Brown, James Neil	4741	died of wounds, France 7/9/1917	DOW 7.9.17	Fallen
Brown, John Alexander	1799	died, Belgium 8/6/1917	KIA 8.6.17	Fallen
Burke, J.F.				Listed
Burke, P. (Son)				Listed
Burnett, W. (or Barnett?)				Listed
Burns, William	3039	died, Belgium 26/9/1917	KIA 26.9.17	Fallen
Cain, Henry George	Depot			Listed
Calnan, Claude	2386		RTA 18.1.19 Dis 17.4.19	Listed
Cameron, William
Carter, Edgar William
Carter, H.B.
Castleman, Ernest John	5813		RTA 12.4.19
Chambers, Hubert Randall	10234		Dis 5.11.17
Chandler, Horace Arthur				Listed
Chandler, W.				Listed
Chaplan, W.				Listed
Chapman, Jas Mayman	198	died 7/11/1920	RTA 13.4.19
Cheesman, William (Willie, Will)	1803		RTA 30.4.19
Clune, John Patrick	on home service		Dis 31.8.16
Coates, Ernest Frederick Collis	61246			Listed
Coffin, C.
Collins, Arthur William
Cox, Graham Rodgers	2567	killed in action Fleurbaix 16.7.16	KIA 19.7.16
Cox, Hubert Franklin	V78217		Dis after signing of Armistice
Cox, Lyle Hampden	4761	died of wounds 16.11.18	DOW 16.11.18
Cox, William Bramwell	7218		Dis 23.3.19
Crick, William James (Jack)	5064	wounded	RTA 8.4.17
Croft, Charles William	801	died Melbourne 17/6/1916
Cross, Frederick Beswick	1689 / 2021		RTA 23.7.19	Listed
Cross, George Murray	4757	Wounded	RTA 25.8.17	Listed
Crute, Arthur Thomas	134	wounded 1916	RTA 8.4.17	Listed
Cullip, Charles Wm Neil	14444			Listed
Currie, Hubert Roulstone Clifford (Cliff R.)	884	fallen	KIA 7.8.15
Curtain, M.
Da Fonte, Albert	1623
Daly, John Francis	358		RTA 4.1.19	Listed
Darker, William
Davenport, Harold A.	3074	killed in action 8/6/1917	KIA 8.6.17
Davies, D.
Derrick, Ernest Albert	1691			Listed
Diamond, Charles Patrick	2493			Listed
Dobley (Doblie), Leslie	1809 / 2301	died Belgium 4/10/1917	KIA 4.10.17	Fallen
Doodt, Charles A.	2654		RTA 16.3.19	Listed
Doodt, D (Dave)	3763		RTA 3.3.19	Listed
Douglas, J.
Douglas, James Oliver	3217		RTA 22.6.19	Listed
Downing, F.
Downing, Frederick
Driscoll, Allan Ernest	6132	KIA 12/7/1918	KIA 12.7.18
Driscoll, Bertie (Cecil Albert)	1676
Driver, William Henry	n/a	died Melbourne 14/8/1915	~	Fallen
Dunell, Frank Thomas Richard	6251		RTA 18.1.19
Durant, William
Ebeling, Eric Arthur	27732	twice wounded	Dis 28.9.17
Ebeling, GA (Gus)		Wounded at Gallipoli		Listed
Edwards, Alfred Richard (Lambert E.)	1537
Edwards, Archibald Richard (Arch.)	1337	Wounded May 1915	RTA 15.2.18
Elliott, Arthur
Elliott, N. (Norman)				Listed
Elliott, T. (Tom) [Thomas Job]	2628		no detail on AIF Nominal Roll	Listed
Elliott, W.N. (William or Nelson)				Listed
Esperson, Oscar Charles Rev
Evans, Gilbert George Henry	148	fallen	DOW 30/7/1916	Fallen
Evans, Stan W.
Farnsworth, William John
Farrell, Richard Louis
Firns, Septimus	1878 or 1078		RTA 4.12.15
Fish, Walter	2227	KIA Gallipoli 13/7/1915	KIA 13.7.15	Fallen
Ford, Arthur W. or Arthur T.		Wounded
Ford, H.				Listed
Fraser, Donald George (Don, Donald John)	2763		Dis 21.9.19	Listed
Frean, Norman Alfred	26		RTA 27.8.15
French, Charles George (Chas / Charles)	61608		Dis 7.10.19	Listed
French, Walter Henry A.	1702		RTA 24.5.16 Dis Sept 1916	Listed
French, William Henry	670		RTA 3.2.15	Listed
Fuller, Mark Reuben	7128		RTA 1.7.19
Gallag(h)er, Nathaniel	885	KIA Belgium 30/4/1917	KIA 30.4.17
Garner, David
Garner, Joseph James	2856		RTA 12.5.19	Listed
Gee, Frederick Roy	7489		RTA 13.7.19 Dis 28.9.19
Gee, Frederick William	2660		RTA 1.5.19	Listed
Gee, Jno. (Jack)	1856	wounded at Gallipoli; wounded in hand 1916	1/05/1919 Dis 6.7.19	Listed
George, Herbert L.	408	KiA France 25/7/1916	KIA 25.7.16
George, John James	4122
Gibson, Chas. A.	2654		RTA 16.12.17 Dis 6.8.18	Listed
Gilbert, Audrey S.	1125		Dis 6.8.16
Golder, Alfred Charles G.	42	wounded 1915	RTA 24.12.18 Dis 11.4.19	Listed
Golder, Frederick Otto	551		RTA 6.5.19 Dis 24.7.19	Listed
Gollop, Harold	4814		RTA 19.12.18 Dis 17.3.19	Listed
Gordon, Hugh G.
Gouge, Walter	2043	died 1928 of war wounds	RTA 18.1.19 Dis Apr 1919	Listed
Greenwood, Harold James	1852		RTA 8.5.19	Listed
Greenwood, Walter Herbert	886	invalided after 6 months in trenches	RTA 10.9.17	Listed
Hanly, Joseph Dillon
Harbour, Herbert Joseph H.	1716		RTA 19.8.19	Listed
Harris, Norman Cecil	2197	wounded Dardanelles	RTA 6.8.15	Listed
Harrowfield, Frank	2323		RTA 15.3.1919	Listed
Harrowfield, Norman Andrew	1740	died France 28/7/1916	KIA 26.7.16	Fallen
Harrowfield, Robert Leslie	4954	once wounded; once gassed	RTA 2.1.19 Dis 20.4.19	Listed
Hartigan, Clarence Victor	1927	KiA 20/1/1917	KIA 20.1.17
Hellings, David Harrison (Dave)	3401		RTA 22.7.19; Dis 30.9.19	Listed
Henderson, Alexander Thomas	5845		RTA 22.8.19
Henderson, C. [Charles?]				Listed
Henderson, John Hamilton	~	died Cerebro Meningitis 8/10/1915	buried Avoca	Fallen
Henderson, Joseph J.	792	once wounded; once gassed	Dis 18.5.18	Listed
Henderson, Thomas Arthur	2786		RTA 22.1.17	Listed
Henderson, Victor William	30		details not on nominal roll
Henry, Clifford Albert	22076	fallen	DOW 16.12.17	Fallen
Hilderbrand, Wm Jas (Will)	1687	wounded - Sep 1916	Dis 25.7.19	Listed
Hill, C.
Holland, Henry S.				Listed
Hope, George Reuben	623	fallen	KIA 30.8.15
Howard, Harold
Howell, Tom Pym	2126	KIA France 16/4/1918	~	Fallen
Hughes, A.
Hughes, W.				Listed
Humphrey, WC
Impey, Harold Thomas	5645		Dis 12.9.19
Irwin, Jas.
Jane, Percy
Jardine, John Armstrong	2770	malaria	RTA 3.7.19	Listed
Jardine, John William	2771		RTA 8.4.19	Listed
Jardine, William Edward	2772		RTA 4.10.18	Listed
Johnson, Cedric	1018?		RTA 22.9.19
Johnson, F.				Listed
Johnson, G. (George)				Listed
Johnson, Reginald Clarence (Rege.) or Reginald Campbell?	679	Wounded May 1915	RTA 8.10.15 Dis 14.3.16	Listed
Johnson, Roy Seccombe	2825		RTA 12.6.19
Johnson, Walter Henry Clarence	681		Dis 22.2.19	Listed
Johnson, William Lennon L. (Lennon)	7875		RTA 15.5.19 Dis 25.3.19	Listed
Keleher, J.
Kiehl, Anton	2020	KIA Gallipoli 19/5/1915	~	Fallen
Kitchell, Percy Vincent	3180		RTA 21.7.17 Dis Nov 1919	Listed
Kitchen, Arthur Leslie	3834	wounded in face and knee, 1916	RTA 28.3.19 Dis 19.5.19	Listed
Kitchen, George R.	3155	wounded 1916 - sustained 5 wounds - bullet passing clean through his leg	RTA 7.3.17 Dis 25.5.17	Listed
Knuckey, Frederick William Laurence	66		Drowned 10.10.18
La Roche, John B.	1504		Dis 1919
La Roche, Roy (O.R.)	6529		Dis Apr 1919
Laidlaw, R.T.				Listed
Lambert, Bert L.
Lambert, Shadrach	1537		Dis Jan 1917	Fallen
Langdon, J.
Lansdell, Francis Henry (Harry)	7516	KIA France 15/4/1918	~	Fallen
Larkins, James		Wounded in action in France Aug or Sep 1916		Listed
Lawry, Henry
Leerson, Albert Henry	1861			Listed
Lewis, C.R.
Lewis, J.W.
Leyden, John Maurice	~		RTA 6.11.18	Listed
Leyden, Phillip James (Phil)	11032		RTA 7.2.19	Listed
Lindsay, Francis James	967	Wounded: disability pension	Returned to Aust 19.10.18	Listed
Lindsay, John
Livingstone, John (Jack)	2406A	died of sickness France 21/10/1918	~	Fallen
Lofts, Arthur Leslie	1672		RTA 16.1.19
London, Henry John
Looney, Oliver John	504		no details on nominal roll
Lundy, Andrew
Lundy, John
Lyons, Philip James	1994		RTA 11.12.18	Listed
Martin, Jack	6133		RTA 2.3.19
Martin, Orville Stowe			RTA 29.5.19
McArdle, John Eric Farquhar	2544	KIA 26.9.17	KIA 26.9.17	Fallen
McCracken, Norman P.
McCulloch, C.
McDowell, William Robert	3831	KIA26.9.17	KIA	Fallen
McEwan, Francis Jacob (Frank J.)	Lieut. / 531			Listed
McLaughlin, Thos.
McManus, Henry John
McVicar, Archibald A.	2124	three times wounded	RTA 27.5.19 Dis 28.8.19	Listed
McVicar, Frederick Neil George	3562		RTA 23.9.18	Listed
Miles, Edward T.L.
Mitchell, Thomas Trebilcock	955	twice wounded	RTA 17.5.19 Dis 4.9.19	Listed
Mitchell, William Dawson	6539	wounded France 27.9.1917	RTA 8.4.18
Mockett, Arch
Moodie, R. A. (Alec)			Dis 31.7.19	Listed
Morris, George
Mortimer, M.
Mouet, Gordon (? Mouat Gordon McKie)	1071		RTA 9.3.19
Neil, Arthur Stanley
Neil, O.
Nicholsen, William (or Nicolson, William George)	3845	died of wounds (effects of gas) at Avoca 25 Nov 1920	RTA 3.3.19
Nicholson, Ernest				Listed
Ohlsen, William Peter	2370		RTA 5.11.17
Opie, Ernest	4496		RTA 5/7/1916
Opie, M.
Opie, Norman	9		RTA 23.7.19
Oppy, William Edward	1964	died 13/10/1917	KIA 13.10.17	Fallen
Orrock, John Harold	6621	died of wounds	DOW 18.11.16
Perry, A.D.
Petherick, Ernest George			RTA 21.3.19
Petherick, Ordmonds Leslie(Orme)	2759	killed 1916 - reported Sept 1916	killed 23.7.16
Phillips, Thos.
Porter, Albert Beddingfield				Listed
Preston, A.E.
Rae, F.M.		wounded - gassed - lost power of speech & hearing but has since regained
Rafferty, Matt
Randall, Matthew Ernest (Ernest)	165	wounded - returned from Egypt; injured by fall of horse in action (Avoca School Honor Roll)	Dis 1917	Listed
Randall, William	532	twice wounded (wounded May 1915); prisoner in Turkey for 3 years 3 months	Dis 8.2.19	Listed
Rayner, C.
Rayner, W. H.
Redpath, Warburton S. (= S.)	2769		RTA 10.6.17 Dis 19.9.19	Listed
Rees, Frederick L.	1705		Dis 30.9.18
Reeves, Harold Henderson	252		Dis 19.1.20	Listed
Reid, D.M.
Reid, Ebenezer Uranus Randall Kaiser (Eb.)	215	once wounded	RTA 3.7.19 Dis 9.10.19	Listed
Resuggan, Arthur George	57	wounded 1916	RTA 4.7.19 Dis 10.10.19	Listed
Roberts, R.G.
Robinson, F.T.
Robinson, Robert W. (Bob)	2245	reported missing 1916	RTA 5.4.19	Listed
Roe, A.T.
Rooke, T.A.
Ross, John M.	3/2709		Dis Nov 1919
Ross, Wm Leslie	3464		Dis July 1919
Rowland, Henry Herbert	1131	KIA 8/5/1915 Gallipoli, Lone Pine		Fallen
Rowland, Wesley Richard	1877	enteric fever Egypt; KIA 21/7/1916 Pozieres		Fallen
Ryan, J.
Samers, Vincent Robert (Vince)	2209		RTA 31/03/1919	Listed
Schofield, E.J.
Scott, Robert Victor	57116		RTA 5.7.19	Listed
Sells, William John	2249		KIA 7.8.15
Shaw. C.E. [Charles?]
Sims, Herbert Louis (Lew)	4584		RTA 15.5.19	Listed
Smith, J.
Smith, L.
Smith, P.
Smith, Stanley William	3484	DoW 9/8/1918		Fallen
Smith, Tom
Squires, Leopold Alfred
Stavely, William C. B. (Will)	Lieut.		RTA 18.12.15 assume should read 1916	Listed
Stewart, Alfred Eyvel	232	KiA 13/8/1918	KIA 13.8.18
Stoddart, George Henry	233	Wounded	RTA 27.5.19
Stuart, William Charles	5454	fallen	KIA 20.9.17
Summerfield, Arthur Joseph	723	wounded 1916
Summerfield, Sydney Edwin (Sid)	310 / 510		RTA 14/12/18
Summers, David L. (Dave)	635	paid supreme sacrifice KIA 19/7/1916		Fallen
Templeton, George Hugh	4597	DoW 26/9/1917		Fallen
Tootell, Edward	5152	KIA 24/4/1918
Tootell, James	970		RTA 19.1.1919
Torney, Wm G. or George William	1742		RTA 8.4.19 Dis 22.7.19	Listed
Townsing, George James	6103		RTA 12.6.19
Tuck, Percy Clarence	1672	DoW 1/5/1915
Turner, Charles Herbert	3839		RTA 13.12.18
Turpin, Henry	6357	DoW 17/4/1917		Fallen
Turpin, Patrick
Walker, Elspeth
Walker, H.
Walker, Kathleen Lucy	S/Nurse		RTA 14.12.17
Walker, Lionel Everard	Depot V79629
Walker, Rose Mary	Sister		RTA 14.12.17
Wantess, T.G.
Warren, Arthur
Watt, H.
Webster, Frank Thomas	1011	Died of Disease 4.8.16	DOD 4.8.16
Webster, Isaac Oswald (Ike)	871	killed at Gallipoli landing	~
Weir, Arthur
Weldon, Robert James Max (Max)	1012	Wounded
Willett, Frank
Williams, Henry				Listed
Williams, W.H.J.
Willmott, Charles Jonathon	401	KIA 25/4/1915	~	Fallen
Willmott, David Horace	2046		RTA 27.7.17 Dis 14.12.17	Listed
Willmott, Herbert Stoten (Herb)	77		RTA 11.6.19 Dis 11.8.19	Listed
Wilson, Albert	Depot			Listed
Wilson, Barwise Carr W. (Barry)	606		RTA 12.11.17	Listed
Wilson, C.M.
Wilson, Vivian L.	3964		RTA 13.2.17
Wilson, William Allan	7584		RTA 24.1.19
Wiltshire, Edward George	5481	wounded twice; 2nd time gassed and suffers from concussion - Sep 1918	Dis 20.3.20	Listed
Wise, C.
Wise, Murray R.	3156		Dis Aug 1919
Wise, Terence Murray	607		Dis Nov 1919
Witherden, David William (Dave)	3956	wounded in France - 1916	RTA 16.1.19	Listed
Witherden, Thomas Haswell (Tom)			RTA 12.5.19 Dis 21.8.19	Listed
Wood, Herbert
Worthington, Argus A. (Angus Arbor)	1064/ 3482		RTA 24/7/19
Worthington, Roy Vincent
Wrigley, Fred Rankin	3168	KIA 24.4.18	~	Fallen
Wrigley, John
Yates, James Oscar	1858		Dis 17.6.19	Listed
Yates, Leslie Reginald (Les)	2198 or 1861	paid supreme sacrifice KIA 26.7.1916		Fallen
Young, Cecil Ernest	5115	wounded in action - GSW to thigh & ear	RTA, discharged TPI
Young, Francis	6914		RTA 5.7.19	Listed
Young, James Guthrie	3517	wounded	RTA 11.4.16
Young, John Percival	2763	gassed; died 9/11/1918 pneumonia in England	~

Related post: Remembrance Day (66 men from the district died during the war, the Memorial records 30 Fallen, 2 of whom actually survived the war, thus only 28 of the 66 who died are listed as Fallen on the Memorial.)

Barwise Carr Wilson

A grand niece of Barwise Carr Wilson has kindly supplied photographs of him as a soldier.

Barwise Wilson at the back of house at Avoca 1914

I have previously written about Barwise Wilson.

Private Robert Hart known as the "Avoca Giant"

AVOCA GIANT. (1917, February 27). Avoca Mail (Vic. : 1863 - 1900; 1915 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152146834
Robert Charles Hart, service number 4129, was born in 1883 at Barkly, a locality 37 kilometres north-west of Avoca.

Robert Hart enlisted at Melbourne on 7 January 1916. He was 32 years old, a farmer living at Barkly, unmarried. His next of kin was his father, Benjamin Hart, also of Barkly.

At the time of his enlistment his height was noted as 6 foot 7 inches. Some  newspapers reported that he was even taller, 6 feet 8 1/2 inches tall..

AUSTRALIA'S HEROES. (1916, January 12). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1900; 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151685246

No title (1916, July 18). Avoca Mail (Vic. : 1863 - 1900; 1915 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151724133

Hart served with the 21st Battalion. Wounded in the battle of Pozières in August 1916, he he was invalided back to Australia and discharged the following year.


Hart was one of three brothers who served.

Australia's Heroes. (1917, July 18). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1900; 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151688538

He was welcomed home in the Barkly Hall on 13 July 1916.

WELCOME HOME TO PRIVATE ROBERT C. HART. (1917, July 24). Avoca Mail (Vic. : 1863 - 1900; 1915 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152146244 (click to enlarge)

Robert's brother Norman was wounded at Bullecourt and his leg was amputated below the knee. Norman was welcomed home in 1918. At that time Robert was reported to be farming at Nyah, 250 kilometres north of Avoca near Swan Hill.

BARKLY. (1918, March 22). Avoca Mail (Vic. : 1863 - 1900; 1915 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152146709

Robert Charles Hart died on 30 August 1948, aged 64 at St Arnaud, Victoria.

The tallest man in the Australian Army was reported to be Private Patrick O'Connor who was7 feet 4 inches tall. This would appear to be O'CONNOR Patrick : Service Number - 2721 : Place of Birth - Tipperary Ireland : Place of Enlistment - Goulburn NSW : Next of Kin - (Wife) O'CONNOR Annie. His attestation papers record he was 7 feet tall.

An Australian giant at Weymouth camp. This soldier's height is 7 feet 4 inches and he is seen standing between two other soldiers of average height. Photograph in the collection of the Australian War Memorial. ID number C04418. This is probably a photograph of Patrick O'Connor.

References

• National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; HART Robert Charles : Service Number - 4129 : Place of Birth - Barkly Vic : Place of Enlistment - Melbourne Vic : Next of Kin - (Wife) HART D L
• First World War Nominal Roll: https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/nominal_rolls/first_world_war/page/R1555701/ 
• Patrick O'Connor: THE TIPPERARY GIANT. (1916, July 28). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120377367 

Billzac

In December the word of the month from Oxford Australia is Billzac, a term for a typical Australian soldier. It was formed from Billjim and Anzac and first appeared in the newspapers in 1916.

Billjim, first recorded in 1898, was a term for typical man in the street. I have found an early use of the word through Trove digitised newspapers in the North Queensland Register of 13 March 1899.

The earliest mention of ANZAC I have found in a Trove search is 7 June 1915, when the Adelaide Register and other newspapers reproduced the text of a cable from Major-General Sir Ian Hamilton to the Minister for Defence, Mr Pearce:  "I received information from Anzac that enemy reinforcements had been seen advancing from Maidos towards Krithia. Consequently Gen. Birdwood arranged to attack the trenches in front of the Ginn's post at 10 p.m."

In Avoca, the term Anzac was used by the Avoca Mail in December 1915 in an advertisement for the programme of the Navarre annual races:

Advertisement for Navarre Annual Races appearing in the Avoca Mail of 21 December 1915.

The patriotically inspired names for the races in the programme for the Navarre meeting helped to distinguish it from a race meeting to be held at Lexton only  a few days before hand. Both meetings advertised that they would donate the proceeds to patriotic funds.

In November 1915 the Avoca Mail reported on hospitals at Anzac: at that time the term Anzac meant the place, not the soldier. The first reference in the Avoca press to Anzac as a term for a soldier was not until January 1916, in the Avoca Mail.

The word 'Billjim' appears only once in the Avoca Free Press in 1918. I have found no matches for 'Billzac'. Neither term shows up in a search of the Avoca Mail.


The Avoca Mail does not appear to use the term digger for soldier in the issues that have been digitised (all issues for 1915 through to the end of 1918). The term was used by Corporal Bob Harrowfield in a letter published by the Avoca Free Press on 28 September 1918:

We marched (?) leisurely along, and passed thousands of American troops. They are fine lads, very enthusiastic, and gave us a hearty greeting. There, is a very friendly feeling between us, despite chaffing by both sides. The American dislikes "Sammy, '' so we call him "Teddy," and he knows that "Digger" will always do us.

Letter from Mr Reg. Johnson

Reginald Campbell Johnson (1895-1984), known as Reg or Rege, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 18 August 1914. He was a farrier, aged 19. On 19 October 1914 he sailed with F Company of the 8th Infantry Battalion on HMAT Benalla. A number of other men from Avoca were in the same Company and also on board the Benalla.

The camp at Mena near Cairo, Egypt, photographed 1915. Photograph in the collection of the Australian War Memorial ID A02741.

On 30 January 1915 the Avoca Free Press published a letter from Reg to his parents  dated 13 December 1914. In his letter Johnson mentions:

• Watty, probably his brother Walter Henry Clarence Johnson (1888-1953), who enlisted at the same time and was also serving with the 8th Battalion
• Dave, probably Dave Summers (1893-1916), who had played with Johnson in the Avoca Brass Band.
• Billy French's accident to his knee; French was repatriated early in 1915 because of it.
• camping near Cairo only about half a mile from the great pyramids pyramids at Giza. Johnson mentions the Sphinx, an Indian wounded by Arabs, two New Zealanders being stabbed, and two men who died falling from the pyramids.

THE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE. (1915, January 30). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved January 4, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151623763

Johnson fought at Gallipoli and was wounded on 25 April 1915 with gunshot injuries to his face. He spent five months in a Manchester hospital and returned to Australia later in 1915. (National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; Johnson Reginald Campbell : SERN 679 : POB Avoca VIC : POE Surrey Hills VIC : NOK Johnson Henry, page 12)

Related posts:

• First enlistments
• William Henry French (1885-1972)
• First volunteers in Broadmeadows camp