By Kath Gannaway
The Badger Creek Hall Committee of Management has unearthed some amazing stories behind the names on the hall’s WW1 Honour Board; but they want to know more!
The Committee is in its last phase of putting together an explanatory booklet to complement the Great War Honour Board which lists the names of 69 local men who left the district for what was to be the war to end all wars.
Fifteen of those men were killed in action – their names marked with a cross on the board.
Hall secretary Kathleen Cameron said the project was initiated in 2015 and connected to other Anzacs centenary commemorations.
Ms Cameron caught up with Healesville RSL president, Brian Luscombe, and Commemorations Officer, Bob Gannaway, last week to look over the draft booklet.
Ms Cameron said the booklet, which they aim to launch around Remembrance Day in November, is a living document with fresh information able to be added as it comes to hand.
To assist with that process the committee is holding a get-together in June for descendants of the 69 men.
The names below, as they appear on the Honour Board, show the close-knit make-up of the community with several instances of multiple family members heading off to war, and including nine Indigenous soldiers from Coranderrk.
Allen J, Broderick W, Becht H, Collis RH, Condon W, Catchpole S, Cahil E, Davis Alfred, Davis JH, Davis R, Davis AJ, Douthie JW, Douthie HH, Franklin WL, Harrison E, Harrison L, Harrison A, Harris JG, Holl W, Hale H, Ivy E, Jenkins GA(R), Jones JL, Keenan GC, Mullett L, Millet D, Mullet D, May C, Martin WT, McCrohan CL, McDougall W, Ozanne C, Ozanne CW, Ozanne AH, Pye R, Phillips F, Phillips H, Patterson HA, Parry E, Potts OH, Potts WR, Potts JJ, Potts CH, Rankin W, Reed LW, Rowan J, Sargeant SE, Sargeant M, Sargeant H, Sargeant CM, Smith A, Smith (T) H, Sloss R, Sloss HS, Sloss JT, Syme N, Syme V, Syme C, Syme A, Stanely V, Tissear R, Terrick GA, Wandin JH, Whittenbury VB, Whittenbury NE, White F, Watson J.
Mr Gannaway said the booklet will be valuable resource for future generations and noted that project had already identified two names requiring correction.
“May should be Mays, and D Millet is actually D Mullet,” he said.
“It is not unusual to have inaccuracies on these boards. It may well be that the signwriter simply misread the handwriting at the time.
“But it’s valuable to have this sort of project being done so any incorrect information can be set right and details that were not known at the time can be put on record.”
The get-together will be at the Badger Creek Hall on Saturday, 30 June from noon to 3pm.
Phone 5962 3639 for further information.
