Corporal George Nelson of Kensington

George Nelson, courtesy of Gayle Murray.

One of three brothers who enlisted, George was the only one to return to his home in Kensington. In this portrait he is seen wearing his Military Medal, Corporal's stripe and Mortar Battery badge.  Read Rod Martin's account of George Nelson and the 6th Light Trench Mortar Battery in action, and George's Military Medal won at Bullecourt in 1917.

Bandsman Vosti's Diaries, 1917-1920

John Vosti is the father of a large family living in Ascot Vale during the Great War.   In 1917 he is working at the Cordite Factory, Maribyrnong, and playing with the Essendon City Council Band.  His eldest son, Les, is in France with the AIF as a bandsman/stretcher-bearer.

John Vosti’s diaries, covering 1917 to 1920, give a detailed account of  the daily life of a working family caught up in the struggle of a nation at war. Anxiously awaiting news from their soldier son, they participate in pro-Conscription rallies and patriotic events.  At the war’s end the struggle continues with industrial disputes affecting their jobs, while the Spanish flu epidemic rages through the district.

These unique diaries offer a special insight into the life of an ordinary working family in a difficult period in Australia’s history.

You can get a copy here  or here.

Ivers of 1 Divisional Ammunition Column

Australian War Memorial Collection.  EOO733

Driver Sydney John Ivers of Ascot Vale worked in a mule train like this one, carrying ammunition to the guns on the front lines.  He received a wound from an exploding shell in Belgium in October 1917 and was evacuated to England.  The injury to his hand resulted in some fingers being amputated, but his problems did not end there.   See Rod Martin's story of his service here.

Invitation to a booklaunch

John Vosti is the father of a large family living in the western suburbs of Melbourne during the Great War.   In 1917 he is working at the Cordite Factory, Maribyrnong, and playing with the Essendon City Council Band.  His eldest son, Les, is in France with the AIF as a bandsman/stretcher-bearer.

John Vosti’s diaries, covering  1917 to 1920, give a detailed account of  the daily life of a working family caught up in the struggle of a nation at war. Anxiously awaiting news from their soldier son, they participate in pro-Conscription rallies and patriotic events.  At the war’s end the struggle continues with industrial disputes affecting their jobs, while the Spanish flu epidemic rages through the district.

These unique diaries offer a special insight into the life of an ordinary working family in a difficult period in Australia’s history.

Moonee Valley Brass, the former Essendon City Brass Band, will very kindly launch this book at a concert to be held at the Gannawarra Centre, 132 Keilor Rd, Essendon North, on Saturday 5 May at 2.30 pm.  Cost $10 per adult, $6 concession.

All welcome.

With gleaming teeth, Private Smith boards the Aeneas, 1916

Troops board HMAT Aeneas at Port Melbourne on 3 October 1916.

Fresh from the dentist's chair, Private Walter George Smith was amongst the troops boarding HMAT Aeneas at Port Melbourne on 3 October 1916.  Rod Martin tells the story of Walter's service in the 106, and later the 118 Howitzer Battery, and the role of the batteries in the last battles of the war.  Walter was wounded by shell fragments in the shoulder and head not long before the Armistice, so his war did not end with the Peace.  Read his story here.

Researching Australian Servicemen and Women of the Great War

In 2015 Australia will commemorate the centenary of the Great War.    To aid research on your family members, or names commemorated on district memorials, the RHSV will hold a workshop
on Tuesday 17th April 1.30 to 4 pm at RHSV Headquarters, 239 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne.

Presenters will be:

Lenore Frost “Official and unofficial sources”
An RHSV Volunteer  “WW1 holdings in the RHSV collection”
Andrew Kilsby     “The use of Unit War Diaries at the AWM”.

Attendees will receive a Bibliography of sources and RHSV holdings. 

Cost: $20.00 for members, $30.00 for non-members
Bookings essential:  phone 9326 9288 or email office@historyvictoria.org.au

Cpl Horace Lang, lost in the Battle of Bullecourt, 1917

Australian troops prepare to attack at Bullecourt, May 1917.  Australian War Memorial Collection.

Horace Lang was a twenty-two year old clerk from North Street, Ascot Vale when he joined up  in March 1915. He arrived in the Middle East in time to see service on the Gallipoli Peninsual, and later took part in operations in France.  His brother Sergeant Thomas Lang of the NZEF subsequently died of illness in Cairo in 1918.  See Rod Martin's story of Horace Lang's part in the Great War.