John David Gowdie shares the story of William Alexander Gowdie. William Alexander Gowdie was born in Footscray in 1890. He spent one-and-a-half years in the Victorian Scottish Regiment, and later joined the Royal Australian Navy for three-and-a-half years. Gowdie enlisted as a Private in the 5th Battalion on 17th August 1914 when war broke out […]

Kerryn Warburton shares the story of her grandfather Joseph Warburton. Joseph Warburton was 25 when he enlisted to serve on 17 August 1914.  A member of the Scottish Regiment, he was the first man to enlist from Cheltenham. He attended Cheltenham Primary School and was a founding member of Cheltenham’s football team in 1909. As […]

Joanne Scanlan shares the story of her grandmother’s brother, George Makin.   George Makin (known as Les to his family, ‘Old George’ to his chums) sailed on the Orvieto with the 5th Battalion Australian Imperial Force. Les landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, and stayed on the peninsula until he succumbed to enteric fever in […]

David Angee shares the story of his grandfather, Herbert William Mawman Herbert William Mawman was born on 1877 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. In 1896 he enlisted in the Imperial Army, Service Number 17531 Royal Field Artillery and did service in Ireland, India and Africa. Herbert wrote a letter to his parents in 1901 describing his […]

Jeanette Angee shares the story of her grandfather, Sylvester John Cathie. My paternal grandfather was known to his family as Jack or Vess. I never knew my grandfather; he died when I was ten months old. However, I feel I know a lot about him through researching his family and from reading the information in […]

David Holloway shares the story of his godfather Alexander Rossiter Caughey. Alexander Rossiter Caughey, known as Ross, joined the 5th Battalion as 2IC “C” Company in August 1914. He was the Landing Officer for the battalion at Gallipoli. In January 1916 he was evacuated to Australia due to illness. In September 1916 he went to […]

Diana Wentworth shares the story of Alexander John McNaughton, who served in both WWI and WWII. Alexander John McNaughton was born in Abbotsford in 1895. He apprenticed as a turner and fitter to the family company, HA Wentworth P/L, working there for 18 years, pre- and post-war. Alexander enlisted on 21 August 1914 aged 18, […]

Rosalie Bartlett tells the story of her father, Leonard Lutterell Coulson. In November 1914, Leonard enlisted in the AIF with Regimental No. 1264 in the 14th Battalion C Company. His unit embarked from Melbourne in Transport A38 Ulysses on 22 December 1914, destined for Middle East Forces in Egypt. The unit proceeded to Gallipoli on […]

Randal Young tells the story of his great uncle, Herbert Joseph Hall, who sailed on the Orvieto to Gallipoli. Herbert Hall was the seventh of 12 children, born in South Melbourne to Charles Melbourne Hall and Evalina Alice Napier in 1894. He joined the Australian Imperial Force on 19 August, 1914 aged just 21 years. […]