ANZAC Centenary 2014-2018: Sharing Victoria's Stories

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WWI Stories – Joseph Victor Truscott

Bendigo

Nicole Phillips shares the story of her great-uncle Joseph ‘Vic’ Victor Truscott.

Vic was born in Bendigo on 4 January, 1894. When he was 18, Vic was sent to Melbourne by the post office to work at the GPO in Elizabeth Street. His responsibilities included driving a horse-drawn van to Spencer Street to collect mail from the stations. Vic’s name is inscribed in a white mantle honour roll in the porch of the Bourke Street entrance to the GPO.

Eventually, Vic returned to Bendigo, where he worked as a postman and later as a telephonist at Bendigo Post Office.

He enlisted to serve in World War One when he was 20 years old, and went on to serve in the battle of Fromelles. Vic developed trench feet, which led to his death on 9 December 1916. He was just 22 years old.

Nicole says she grew up listening to stories about Vic’s bravery during the war from his younger sister, Nicole’s paternal grandmother. Nicole’s grandmother said Vic was born to be a soldier, because he had a number of black Minorca fowls that he trained to walk in file.

Nicole’s grandmother never recovered from Vic’s death, and could not bring herself to visit his grave in Etaples, France. She kept his memory alive for her children and grandchildren, and this is passed down the generations to his great-grandchildren.

Nicole visited Vic’s grave on behalf of her grandmother, and laid a photo of her at his grave. She remembers the sea of white gravestones in the Commonwealth Government Cemetery, and was struck by what an idyllic place northern France was, and how difficult it is to imagine the horror for those who fought in the trenches there.

Vic-in-uniform