With Anzac Day drawing closer, I thought it was time for an update on the WW1 project I started during the Centenary of WW1 and continue to this day. The initial aim was to collect the names of men and women with Hamilton connections who enlisted for WW1 and tell their stories. To date, the enlisted men number more than 730 and there are forty-eight enlisted women. Their connection to Hamilton could come from their birth in the town, education, or work. Or, it could also be through a parent or sibling living in the town. The names of those who enlisted in Hamilton are included, as are those named on the various memorials and honour boards around Hamilton.
Hamilton’s WW1 is also about the response of the Hamilton townspeople to the outbreak of war and the difficult years that followed. .The Hamilton’s WW1 Facebook page was useful in examining this through a daily post “100 years ago in the Hamilton Spectator” with an article from each edition of the Hamilton Spectator from 1915 to 1918.
There were articles about the football clubs, the local P&A show, and the races, all impacted by the war. Other articles told of the unfair treatment of the Indigenous men who marched from Condah to Hamilton to enlist, and anti-German sentiment particularly evident in Hamilton with German settlements located to the south of the town.
The Hamilton Spectator was a vital source of news from the front. People would gather around boards outside the Spectator office (below) to read the latest edition to ensure friends, work colleagues, or relatives were not on the latest list of wounded, missing, and dead. Everyone would have known someone who was serving. This photo of a small section of Gray Street, Hamilton demonstrates that.
Several men from the Spec office enlisted including apprentice monoline operator William Hind killed at the Nek, Gallipoli on 7 August 1915. Next door was the office of stock and station agent John Fenton. John and his wife Helen saw two boys off to war but only one returned. A few doors to the right of John Fenton’s was the hairdressing and tobacconist shop of Harry Catterson, killed at Bullecourt on 11 April 1917.
In the background is the Hamilton Post Office. Several past and then current postal employees enlisted. Past employee William Head was killed at the landing at Gallipoli and Cyril Iles, a letter sorter at the time of enlistment, was killed at Pozieres in 1916. A bit further along and across the road was the Hamilton State School. Former teacher Walter Filmer was killed at Bullecourt in May 1917 and dozens of pupils had big brothers, uncles, and fathers overseas some to never return. Diagonal to the school was the Hamilton YMCA. Twenty-six members were either killed or died from wounds. So much loss in just half a block of Hamilton’s main street. I could continue in either direction along Gray Street and offer similar examples.
The response at home is also interwoven through the biographies of the enlisted men and women. As well as looking at the subject’s pre-war life, I explore how their enlistment impacted family and friends at home. Impassioned requests for the return of personal effects, family divisions over pensions and medals, and seemingly premature deaths of parents are throughout. Then there were the families of those missing presumed dead. Whether it was the typed letters by Alan Cordner’s father Isiah or the handwritten letters of Richard Hicks’ mother Janet, they were written with raw emotion. It wouldn’t have surprised me to find Isiah Cordner had somehow made it to the Middle East to find Alan, such was his quest for some sort of closure.
Currently, the number of biographies I have written for those men who didn’t return stands at 136 from a total of 183. I have also written a further thirty-five biographies of returned men and nurses, and added seven war memorials and honour boards from around Hamilton. There will be more honour boards to come with only photos needed for completion. The past year has restricted my access to boards but I should be able to start getting photos soon. Longer term, I’m working on bringing together the information gathered from the Spectator snippets on the Facebook page and the collection on this site into a more accessible format.
Below you will find the biographies and memorials/honour boards completed so far. The ranks and units were taken from the AIF Nominal Roll compiled in 1919 with the last rank and unit of each person. Click on the names to read more.
The Fallen
ANDERSON, Edward Handfield (2nd Lt) 57th Australian Infantry Battalion
AUSTIN, William John (Sgt) Australian Imperial Force Headquarters
BAULCH, Leith Silas David (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
BEECHAM, George James Leopold (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
BLACK, James (Pte) 51th Australian Infantry Battalion
BLACKNEY, James Alexander (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
BRIANT, Reginald (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
BROKENSHIRE, Joseph (Cpl) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
BURGESS, Ebenezer (Pte) 21th Australian Infantry Battalion
CAMERON, Sidney Joseph (Cpl) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
CAMERON, Thomas Waddell (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
CATTERSON, Robert Henry (LSgt) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
COLESTEN, Stanley George (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
CONNOR, John Leslie (Sgt) 8th Light Horse Regiment, A Squadron
COOK, George (Dvr) 6th Field Company, Australian Engineers
CORDNER, Joseph Alan (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company
COULTER, Robert James (Trooper) 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment
DARK, George Henry (Pte) 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion
DAVIES, Stanley Walton (Pte) 5th Australian Infantry Battalion
DOHLE, Alfred (LCpl) 4th Cavalry Division, 13th Australian Light Horse Regiment
DOHLE, Edmund (Pte) 38th Australian Infantry Battalion
DOUGLAS, Claude Campbell Telford (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
DRUMMOND, Robert William (Pte) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
DUFF, Robert William (Pte) 38th Australian Infantry Battalion
DUNN, Daniel Joseph (Pte) 3rd Australian Pioneer Battalion
ELDER, Frank Reginald (Pte) 7th Australian Infantry Battalion
EMMETT, Arthur Munro (Pte) 24th Australian Infantry Battalion
EMMETT, Alfred Roy (Cpl) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company
EMMETT, Ernest (Pte) 2nd Australian Field Ambulance
EVANS, Arthur Leslie (Dvr) 11th Australian Field Artillery Brigade
FENTON, John Wilfred (M.M.) (Lt) 2nd Australian Division Artillery
FILMER, Walter Stephen (2nd Lt) 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion
FINNEGAN, Terence (Pte) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
FOLEY, Cornelius Thomas (Gnr) 3rd Australian Field Artillery Brigade
FRANCIS, John Walter (Lt) 59th Australian Infantry Battalion
FRIEND, Percy O’Connor (M.M.) (2nd Lt) 31th Australian Infantry Battalion
GAYER. William Ventry (M.M) (Bdr) 4th Australian Field Artillery Brigade
GIBSON, Sydney Walter (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
GIBSON, Victor Robert (LCpl) 60th Australian Infantry Battalion
GORDON, James (Pte) 1th Australian Machine Company
GRAVES, Hubert (BQMS) 12th Australian Field Artillery Brigade
GREEN, Francis Regis (Pte) 60th Australian Infantry Battalion
HARRIS, Leslie Duncan (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
HAYWARD, Herbert James (Pte) Depot Battalion
HENTY, Edward Ellis (Lt) 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment
HERLIHY, George Joseph David (Pte) 7th Australian Infantry Battalion
HERRMANN, Bernard (Tpr) 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment
HICKS, Richard Ernest (Pte) 14th Australian Field Artillery Brigade
HIND, William Arthur (Tpr) 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment
HOBBINS, Albert Archibald (Gnr) 4th Australian Field Artillery Battery
HOPKINS, Clive Boyer (Capt) 45th Australian Infantry Battalion
HUDSON, Charles Robert (Pte) 24th Australian Infantry Battalion
ILES, Cyril Thomas Brackley (Pte) 23rd Australian Infantry Battalion
INGRAM, John (Pte) 57th Australian Infantry Battalion
JACKSON, Walter Henry (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
JAFFRAY, Alfred John Cpt) 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment, C Squadron
JOHNSON, Francis Charles (Pte) 35th Australian Infantry Battalion
JOYCE, Matthew John (Pte) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
JOYCE, Thomas William (LCpl) 24th Australian Infantry Battalion
KEEGAN, Roderick James (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
KENDALL, Frank Selwood (Pte) 5th Australian Machine Gun Battalion
KILKELLY, James Patrick (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
KINGHORN, Walter Rodney (LCpl) 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment
KIRKWOOD, William John Clyde (Pte) 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion
KNIGHT, James Alfred (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
LANCE, George Basil (Pte) 50th Australian Infantry Battalion
LEES, William Alexander Christie (Pte) 7th Australian Infantry Battalion
LEWIS, Arthur Harold (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
LIEBE, Sydney August (Pte) 21st Australian Infantry Battalion
LINDSAY, Charles Henry (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
LOVELL, William Leslie (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
MALONE, John Henry (Pte) 57th Australian Infantry Battalion
McDERMAID, Robert Bailey (Dvr) 21th Australian Infantry Battalion
McKECKNIE, John Sinclair (Dvr) 4th Field Artillery Brigade ,
McLUCKIE, John Law (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
McPHEE, John Alexander (Pte) 2nd Battalion Auckland Regiment, New Zealand Army
McPHEE, Norman Edward (Sgt) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
McQUEEN, George William (Lt) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
McSWAIN, John (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
MORIESON, Ivan (Pte) 29th Australian Infantry Battalion
MORISON, John (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
MORRISSEY, Frank (Pte) 10th Infantry Brigade Headquarters
MULLANE, Leslie Alexander (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
NIDDRIE, Stanley Roy (Sgt) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
NIVEN, James (Pte) 23rd Australian Infantry Battalion
NIVEN, William David (Pte) 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment
NORMAN, William Leslie (Cpl) 24th Australian Infantry Battalion
O’NEILL, Thomas (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
ORD, Thomas Hugh (ACpl) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
OSBORNE, Percy Beaumont (LSgt) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
PARR, Alfred John (2nd Lt) (D.C.M.) 59th Australian Infantry Battalion
PEACH, William Robert (Pte) 24th Australian Infantry Battalion
PORTER, Norman Leslie (Pte) 12th Australian Infantry Battalion
PRIMROSE, Leslie John (Lt) No. 2 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps
RHOOK, Henry Joseph William (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
RICHIE, George (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
RIGBY, Frederick Angus Rowland (Tpr) 22 Corps Light Horse
SACK, James (Pte) 1st Australian Machine Gun Battalion
SALTER, Herbert Ernest (LCpl) 7th Australian Infantry Battalion
SANGSTER, Leslie Fairburn (Spr) 2nd Australian Division Signals Company
SCOTT, Alexander William Pte) 21th Australian Infantry Battalion
SHARROCK, Charles (LCpl) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
SHEEHAN, Albert Edward (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion, D Company
SHEEHAN, Daniel Denis (Pte) 5th Australian Infantry Battalion
SLOAN, Joseph (Pte) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
SMITH, Edwin Richardson (M.M.) (Pte) 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion
SMYTH, James Norman (D.C.M.) (Tpr) 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment
STAGOLL, Robert Leslie (Pte) 24th Australian Infantry Battalion
STEPHENS, William Hudson (Pte) 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion
STEVENSON, Alexander John (Sgt) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
STEVENSON, Edgar Richmond (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
STEWART, Charles Herbert (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
STEPHENS, William Hudson (Pte) 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion
TAYLOR, John Woolhouse (Pte) 28th Australian Infantry Battalion
TAYLOR, Robert James (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
TAYLOR, Thomas Henry (Pte) 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment
THOMAS, Edward Courtney (Pte) 6th Australian Field Ambulance
THOMPSON, William Norton (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
TILLEY, George Edward (Tpr) 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment
TOLEMAN, Kenneth (2nd Lt) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
TORBET, Gordon James (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
TREDREA, Francis Stanley (Pte) 60th Australian Infantry Battalion
TRIGGER, Samuel Winifred (Pte) 30th Australian Infantry Battalion
TUCKER, Virgil (Cpt) 16th Australian Infantry Battalion
TULLY, John Luke Victor (Pte) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
WARING, Frederick Charles MacLeod (Cpl) Australian Army Postal Corps
WATERS, William Henry (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
WESTGARTH, Horace Leonard (LCpl) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
WHITE, James Michael (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
WILLIAMS, Clifford Davies (Pte) 23rd Australian Infantry Battalion
WILLIAMS, Lancelot Hamilton (Spr) 4th Field Company, Australian Engineers
WILLIAMS, Lewis Henry Clifford (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
WINNELL, William (Pte) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
WOMERSLEY, Edgar (Tpr) 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment
YOUNG, Clarence Everard (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
YOUNGER, John James Affleck (Lt) 10th Australian Infantry Battalion
Returned Men
ARMITAGE, Harold William (Pte) 16th Australian Field Ambulance
AUSTIN, Glenister Burton (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
BARR, Gordon (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
BOYD, William Charles (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
BOXER, Walter Henry (M.M & Bar, D.C.M.) (LCpl) 58th Australian Infantry Battalion
BRAKE, William (Pte) Australian Flying Corps
BROWN, Thomas (Pte) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
CAMERON, Archibald Douglas (Dvr) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
COWAN, Duncan Brown (D.C.M.) (LSgt) 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
CREEK, Herbert (D.C.M.) (Cpl) 1st Australian Armoured Car Section
DAVIES, Albert (Pte) 6th Australian Infantry Battalion
LEARMONTH, Basil Law (Lt) Australian Flying Corps
LODGE, Augustus Bernard (D.S.O.) (Capt) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
LODGE, Frank Spry (M.C. M.M.) (Lt) 2nd Australian Pioneer Battalion
LOVETT, Alfred John Henry (Pte) 12th Australian Infantry Battalion
MILLS, John Craig (Pte) 14th Australian Infantry Battalion
PORTER, George Richard (Pte) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
RHOOK, Archibald Alfred (LCpl) 46th Australian Infantry Battalion
SHAW, Ivan Thomas (Dvr) 2nd Australian Divisional Ammunition Column
UNDERWOOD, Arthur Bell Percy (M.M.) (Pte) 23rd Australian Infantry Battalion
WENSLEY, Albert William (Pte) 5th Australian Infantry Battalion
YOUNG, Leonard Hamilton (Pte) 8th Australian Infantry Battalion
Nurses
ALLEN, Caroline Mary (S Nurse) Australian Army Nursing Serivce
CAMERON, Edith Clare (S Nurse) Australian Army Nursing Service
DELAHENTY, Margaret (S Nurse) Australian Army Nursing Service
DONNES, Alice (S Nurse) Australian Army Nursing Service
GREWAR, Gertrude Agnes (Sr) Australian Army Nursing Service
HARRIS, Fanny May Red Cross Volunteer Nurse
HUGHES, Catherine Josephine (S Nurse) Australian Army Nursing Service
KENNEDY, Josephine Millicent (Sr) Australian Army Nursing Service
MALCOLM, Edith Eileen (S Nurse) Australian Army Nursing Service
MALCOLM, Stella Agnes Blyth (Sr) Australian Army Nursing Service
MALSTER, Lilian Martha (Sr) Australian Army Nursing Service
ROUNTREE, Evangeline Amelia (S Nurse) Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service
SCOTT, Norma Norham (S Nurse) Australian Army Nursing Service
Memorials and Honour Boards
Australian Light Horse Memorial
Borough of Hamilton WW1 Honour Roll
Christ Church Anglican Church Roll of Honour
Lest We Forget
LEGEND: 2ND LT = 2ND LIEUTENANT, BDR=BOMBARDIER, CAPT=CAPTAIN, CPL=CORPORAL, DCM=DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL, DSO=DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER, DVR=DRIVER, GNR=GUNNER, LCPL=LANCE CORPORAL, LT=LIEUTENANT, MC=MILITARY CROSS, MM=MILITARY MEDAL, MSM=MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL, PTE=PRIVATE, SGT=SERGEANT, S NURSE=STAFF NURSE, SPR=SAPPER, SR=SISTER, TRP=TROOPER, WO1=WARRANT OFFICER CLASS 1
Featured image courtesy of the State Library of Queenland
©2021 Merron Riddiford
Western District Families 
An incredible contribution to not only your community, but to historical records. Thank you.
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Thank you, Chris
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CONGRATULATIONS! Your blog has been included in INTERESTING BLOGS in FRIDAY FOSSICKING at
https://thatmomentintime-crissouli.blogspot.com/2021/04/friday-fossicking-30th-april-2021.html
Thank you, Chris
So detailed and much appreciated.
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Thank you for including me, Chris
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You’re very welcome, Merron.
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