Postcards from the muddy trenches of France
On 10 January 1916, three brothers from the Gorton family – Tom, Fred and Herbert – enlisted in WWI…
Alfred Cavalchini: Baker, Confectioner and Photographer
Italian born Alfred Cavalchini arrived in Sydney at the age of 16 in 1900. During World War I, Cavalchini took photographic portraits of young men as they headed to war in their uniforms…
Hector Holmes Service No. 3555 – POW
In November 1917, in the midst of the Great War, newspapers nationwide carried the heartening news of two Australian escapees from a German prison camp. One of these combatants was Hector Holmes…
Private Maynard Basham, Tinonee
Of the 19 Tinonee men who enlisted in WW1, 12 were killed in action. Two of these men were awarded the Military Medal, one of those was Private Maynard Basham…
Lionel Stephen Whitbread
Lionel Stephen Whitbread was born in 1885 and lived his early life at Sidebottom (Koorainghat). Son of Taree town clerk and school teacher mother, Lionel was known for his integrity and honesty…
Just a child: Private John Lancelot Andrews
John Lancelot Andrews enlisted in December 1916 to fight with the Australian Imperial Forces in World War 1. Within three months he was a private in the Lewis Machine Gun Section of the 54th Battalion and encamped in England…
Geoffrey Blake Hammond
Geoffrey Blake Hammond was born 1898, Wingham and served in WW1. He was granted land under the Returned Soldiers Settlement Act of 1916…
Private Willie Alway
When you find a personalised photo in your Aunt’s collection from someone you have never heard of before, your curiosity can’t help but get the better of you…
James Hickey Stevens
James Hickey Stevens, known as ‘Jim’ to all, was the second son of George and Eliza Stevens of ‘Killarney’, Dyers Crossing…
Trooper Percy Lyon – 7th Light Horse Regiment
Generally speaking, the names inscribed on war memorials indicate that the individual has experienced the horrors of the battlefield, but this is not always the case. For these exceptions, their stories are, nevertheless, poignant. Percival Ernest Lyon was born on 22 November 1891, the fourth son of James and Alice Lyon. His father was a…