By Renee Wood
A Badger Creek Hall committee member is hoping the public can help identify several soldiers who have been listed on the Hall’s World War I Roll of Honour Board.
Secretary Kathleen Cameron is creating a book in recognition of the 69 men who went to the first war however, 15 names don’t match up to any other military records.
Ms Cameron first began researching the local veterans several years ago and said she’s only had the names on the board to go from.
“The board is my reference point with the spelling and the initial and if that’s wrong I can’t assume they mean something else,” Ms Cameron said.
“I have found other names but I can’t make the jump, for example he was known as Sam but he was enlisted under Stan Lee. I can’t make that jump and that’s the only information I start with so 15 we can’t find don’t exist on the military records.”
Ms Cameron has been cross referencing the names with military archives, local RSLs, several websites including ‘Discovering Anzacs’ and cemetery records but 15 are no where to be found.
It first started when the Victorian Mechanics Institute asked committees across the state to put together a booklet telling of the soldiers and their lives from for the centenary in 2014.
Ms Cameron jumped at the opportunity and has since invested thousands of hours to the project, learning of the courage and strength these men showed on the battlefield and throughout the lives.
“My father was a market gardener, and he was exempt from the war service and he was always generous to return soldiers, so I guess it’s a bit of a carryover from his goodwill.”
Several of the men listed received military medals and citations including Sergeant Stanley Ernest from Healesville who in July 1918 was severely wounded when delivering ammunition ‘but refused to leave till ammunition delivery was completed safely. Then he led his men through heavy ART. and MG. barrage utterly disregarding danger. His devotion to duty was a great stimulus to his men.’
Ms Cameron hopes she can identify the remaining 15 to acknowledge their contributions to the war effort.
The unidentified names are as follows:
S, Catchpole
J H, Davis
R, Davis
E, Harrison
K, Harrison
H, Hale
E, Ivy
L, Mullett
W, McDougall
C, Ozanne
F, Phillips
H, Phillips
W, Rankin
V, Stanley
F, White
The book will soon go to print over the next month, Ms Cameron expects this will be the first edition and it will continue to be updated as the names who remain blank are found and commemorated.
Once it’s complete, a copy will be sent out across the country and the world to acknowledge Badger Creek veterans.
“We’re going to send it to the John Monash Centre in Fromelles France, it’s got to go to Canberra, to Melbourne’s shrine and the War Memorial, the National Library, and the Victorian Mechanics Institute.”
