Families and Friends of the First AIF

Families and Friends of the First AIF Send mail to PO Box 4245, FORSTER, NSW, AUSTRALIA Patron-in-Chief is His Excellency the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The Families and Friends of the First AIF Inc (FFFAIF Inc) is dedicated to 'Digger Heritage' and Keeping The Memory Alive (KTMA) of the First AIF Diggers who served in the Great War of 1914-1918. The FFFAIF has over 420 members in Australia and Overseas
Produces a quarterly “Digger” magazine full of 76 pages of Digger profiles, photos and insights. The only exclusively First AIF magazine in Austra

lia. "COBBeR" irregular electronic magazine of 60 to 120 pages. Annual John Laffin Memorial Lecture. Regional Meetings and Excursions. Battlefield tours for members. Research and publication assistance (at no charge). Individual, family and concessional membership.

“Bricks and Trees for Victory”.‘The Ballarat Arch of Victory and Avenue of Honour’, Ballarat, Victoria. Completed 1919-1...
08/09/2026

“Bricks and Trees for Victory”.

‘The Ballarat Arch of Victory and Avenue of Honour’, Ballarat, Victoria. Completed 1919-1920’.

The Arch of Victory, one of Ballarat's most iconic structures, stands at the entrance to Australia's longest commemorative avenue of honour and both were almost entirely funded by the women employees of local clothing firm E. Lucas & Company.

In May 1917, Mrs W. D. Thompson, a director of the firm, suggested planning an Avenue of Honour at Ballarat. The idea was accepted enthusiastically with planting beginning in June 1917. The final planting took place in June 1919. This avenue extends for a distance of 14-miles and contains 3,900 trees which were individually planted by the affectionately called “Lucas Girls"L one for every Ballarat citizen who served in the Great War.

Eleven species, totalling 3,912 trees, were planted in eight phases by the staff of the Lucas factory with the support of local farmers, who provided tree guards. Each of the plantings were publicised events attracting great support from the Ballarat community and the state government and people.

The cost of the trees was £2,000, raised by women at the factory, which employed over 500 women. The Lucas women were also directly involved in planting many of the trees during the winters of 1917 to 1919 with eight planting days allotted each year. They also assisted in the loading of bricks from the Selkirk factory onto carts which were used for the construction of the Arch of Victory.

The fundraising activities undertaken by the Lucas Girls included wages’ deduction donations, clothing exhibitions, the sale of souvenirs, fetes and a women’s football match in 1918, the latter raised £320.

£2,600 was raised concurrently for the equally ambitious goal of building the Arch of Victory as an entrance to the Avenue of Honour.

The foundation stone for the Victory Arch was placed by General Sir William Birdwood on the 7th of February 1920. A team of thirteen local bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters undertook the construction which was completed in a record four months and utilised 70,000 bricks donated by the local Selkirk company.

The Arch stands at 17.5 metres-high and 19.7 metres-wide, and is topped by the emblem of the Australian Imperial Force, the Rising Sun. Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, officially opened Ballarat's Arch of Victory on the 2nd of June 1920.

The Avenue of Honour and the Victory Arch are carefully maintained by the City of Ballarat to this day and was rededicated in 2012.

Credit: City of Ballarat, Victoria archives, and ‘TripAdvisor’ colour image.

‘Unknown Australian soldier in Vignacourt, France’, circa 1916-18 by Louis Thuillier. National Portrait Gallery of Austr...
06/09/2026

‘Unknown Australian soldier in Vignacourt, France’, circa 1916-18 by Louis Thuillier. National Portrait Gallery of Australia.

The family of Algernon Darge, Louis and Antoinette Thuillier photographed literally hundreds of ‘Diggers’, the identities of whom are now mostly unknown.

‘The Roll of Honour plaques to the Fallen and War Memorial’, in the vestibule (once called the ‘Memorial hall’), Blue Mo...
05/09/2026

‘The Roll of Honour plaques to the Fallen and War Memorial’, in the vestibule (once called the ‘Memorial hall’), Blue Mountains District Anzac Hospital, 1 Woodlands Road, near the Great Western Highway, Katoomba, New South Wales. Dedicated 1927.

The foundation stone for the ‘Blue Mountains District Anzac Memorial Hospital’ was laid on the 6th of October 1925 by the Governor of New South Wales Sir Dudley de Chair. The decision was made to establish the hospital as a living memorial to local servicemen who died during the conflict.

The hospital building was completed at the beginning of 1927.

To emphasise the memorial nature of the Hospital the vestibule was lined with memorial tablets recording the names of 139 local soldiers who were killed in the First World War.

The three large white marble tablets constitute a roll of honour mounted to the brick wall inside the what was then the ain public entrance to the hospital. The inscription and returned servicemen’s names are engraved and gilded on the plaques.

The honour roll remains in pristine condition and attracts interest by knowledgeable visitors when passing through the vestibule of the Blue Mountains District Anzac Memorial Hospital.

Lest we Forget.

—————-

HRH The Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) unveiled the memorial tablets in the then so-called "Memorial Hall" and signed the visitor’s book on the 31st of March, 1927 in a small ceremony during a ‘drive-by’ visit to the Blue Mountains by the Duke and Duchess of York. The York’s were on a Royal Tour of Australia at the time, the highlight of which would be the official opening of the new Federal Parliament House in Canberra.

The official opening of the hospital itself occurred on the 3rd of October 1928 and was a much larger occasion. The hospital has grown from an initial capacity of 22 beds to be a large modern hospital and medical centre serving Katoomba and the upper Blue Mountains.

Credit: New South Wales War Memorial Register, Blue Mountains City Council, and colour images by ‘C.B.’ with thanks.

‘The Woodford War Pavilion and war memorial’, Great Western Highway, New South Wales. Opened and dedicated 1922. The bui...
02/09/2026

‘The Woodford War Pavilion and war memorial’, Great Western Highway, New South Wales. Opened and dedicated 1922.

The building was constructed in 1920 by local builder and stonemason Mr. Thomas Owen Thomas, and opened on Anzac Day 1922.

The building, described as a memorial pavilion at the time, is constructed of free stone blocks with an internal memorial bearing marble tablets. It is a square open buildingwith an intersecting gabled roof. The roof is supported on stone piers with brick cappings. The memorial is approached by seven stone steps.

The dedication inscription reads:

WOODFORD’S MEMORIAL TO THOSE WHO FOR KING AND EMPIRE ENLISTED FROM THIS VILLAGE FOR SERVICE IN THE GREAT WAR
1914-1919

On a second panel are listed other are the names of the fallen from Woodford:

C. H. Dakin, C. Fiddling, J. Fiddling, J. Wheeler.

Underneath this is inscribed, "How Sleep the Brave."

Other panels record the names of local men who served and returned.

The third panel lists the names of D. W. Cameron, C. Cooper, B. Crompton, W. E. David, J. L. Bray (?), C. B. Haines, L. Haines, A. P. Holdup, and A. G. Hume,

and on the fourth, W. H. Tombs, F. Ware, S. Wheeler, A. Wood, C. Wood, E. K. S. Bowden and F. Wheeler.

An inscription also points to the fact that a machine gun captured on the Somme on August 8, 1918 was once on display outside the building.

Additional marble tablets in a darker colour are placed above the World War One tablets and list names of local men who served in the Second World War.

Credit: Photographs by ‘C.B.’, Register of New South Wales WR Memorials, Trove newspaper archives, and

“On One of the Lonely Hills Overlooking Stanthorpe.”‘Soldiers’ Memorial 1914-1919’, on Foxton’s Hill overlooking Stantho...
02/09/2026

“On One of the Lonely Hills Overlooking Stanthorpe.”

‘Soldiers’ Memorial 1914-1919’, on Foxton’s Hill overlooking Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia. Dedicated 1926.

Stanthorpe is a small town in the south-east corner of the State of Queensland near the border with New South Wales. At the time of the Great War it was very much still a rural community.

The Stanthorpe Soldiers Memorial is a heritage-listed building off Lock Street, Stanthorpe. It was designed by architects Messers. Dornbusch & Connolly and built in 1925-1926 by N. J. Thompson & Sons. It is also known locally as the ‘Stanthorpe War Memorial’.

When built, it was described as a “park and rest house” located on Foxton's Hill, “one of the lonely hills overlooking Stanthorpe” according to ‘The Queenslander’ newspaper in 1926.

The building is a near-perfect example of a utilitarian and useful war memorial built as an amenity for community use.

The secluded site was chosen by the recently formed community war memorial committee in 1919 because it could be bought at a reasonable price, unlike nearby Mount Marley the main tourist lookout over Stanthorpe. Construction was delayed to 1925 because of lack of funds to build it.

‘The Stanthorpe Shire Cultural Heritage Study’ report states that The Stanthorpe Soldiers Memorial is 6.15-metres by-4.6-metres (20ft × 15ft) and housed five or six Honour Rolls listing the names of those who served when it was dedicated in 1926. One was reserved for the thirty-eight men who died, the raised letters stating: 'To the memory of our gallant boys who fell in the world's war 1914-1919'. Bench seating was also installed inside the house.

Further honour boards were added to remember the fallen in later conflicts.

This ‘hilltop’ memorial was unveiled on the 6th February 1926 by Major General Sir William Glasgow, the wartime commander of the 1st Australian Division AIF.

Initially, the area was not landscaped and access was by a track from Lock Street. In recent years, the memorial has been restored, repainted, and the site somewhat levelled. The site is landscaped with steps, seating and vehicular access for the public.

“On the Road to Jericho with the Light Horse, 1918”These two photographs show the travails suffered in the advance into ...
31/08/2026

“On the Road to Jericho with the Light Horse, 1918”

These two photographs show the travails suffered in the advance into Syria in 1918 by the Australian forces.

The first image she’s an upturned lorry. It has lost its balance and lost its cargo. Light horsemen or army service corps men observe the ‘own-goal’ which has blocked the ir ward movement of the wagons in the background.

As the Ottoman army withdrew, its engineers blew bridges and damaged the roads to delay the follow-up of the British forces. The second image shows a traffic jam of men, horses, and wagons held up at a river crossing at a bridge over the Jordan River blown up by Turks.

These remarkable images are in a collection of photographs contained in the Army Museum of Western Australia archives and found here:

https://collectionswa.net.au/items/27acf995-bc91-43f7-bda7-23132e1489ba

“Heads-up.”This image shows light horsemen and horses, possibly at a Remount Depot in Egypt or serving with the 10th (We...
30/08/2026

“Heads-up.”

This image shows light horsemen and horses, possibly at a Remount Depot in Egypt or serving with the 10th (Western Australian) Light Horse Regiment.

The need for adequate water was a constant concern in maintaining the health of the Waler horses of the Australian Light Horse serving in the operations in the Middle East.

These horses are being watered from portable canvas water troughs. This was a far more practical way than finding a natural watering hole and leading individual horses into the water.

Leading hundreds of horses to the troughs was still both time consuming and labour intensive and definite procedures were promulgated to control the process, including that an officer should be on duty at the watering place while animals were drinking.

In addition, “No man should take more than two animals at one time to drink …. animals should be watered in batches, a whole batch should be kept at the trough till all have finished and have had their heads up for at least one minute. Every batch will require from five to six minutes actually at the trough.”

Troublemakers, or ‘Kickers’, were however watered separately and with due care! Also, the far horse in the image seems to be “out of line”!

This photograph is part of the extensive Phil Sullivan 10th Light Horse Collection donated to the Army Museum of Western Australia in 2023.

Credit: via the Digital archive of ‘WA Collections’.

‘The lost NZ Hospital Nurse, Winifred Starling, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service and attachments to t...
23/08/2026

‘The lost NZ Hospital Nurse, Winifred Starling, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service and attachments to the NZEF Medical Services’.

Winifred is the Australian nurse listed on the Wentworth Falls War Memorial in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

On the 10th of October 1918, the RMS Leinster was torpedoed in the Irish Sea, killing over 500 people. Among the dead was reportedly Winifred Starling reportedly posted to 2nd NZ General Hospital —a nurse from Australia. She appears on the casualty list. Yet her presence on board was never officially confirmed.

Winifred Starling was born in November 1878 in the Sydney suburb of Burwood, the sixth of nine children. Her father, John Penny Starling, an English immigrant and successful businessman, left his family well provided for. Winifred attended Ardnarce Anglican Grammar School and trained as a nurse at the Victoria Hospital in Chelsea in London in 1904 and later completed her training at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown, passing her Australian Trained Nurses’ Association examination in June 1908. By 1915 she had joined the war effort, traveling on the RMS Morea with twenty-two other Australian civilian nurses to England for service with the British nursing services.

She served with the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Reserve, treating soldiers from the Western Front. From late 1917 she worked at No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital in Surrey, England caring for ANZAC casualties. The hospital is pictured at right above a photograph of nursing staff at No. 2 NZGH, Walton-on-Thames, England, circa 1918. It is just possible that Winifred is pictured here.

In late 1918 Winifred sought discharge from the QAIMNS Reserve in order to return to Australia. She appears to have then been granted a private leave of absence in Ireland and was presumably returning from leave in early October 1918 aboard the RMS Leinster was torpedoed . Some reports suggest she was offered duty aboard the Leinster on its ill-fated voyage. But no eyewitness confirmed her boarding. Her body was never identified. Despite this, she was listed amongst the dead, and probate was granted to her sister Ruby in 1919.

Winifred Starling is honourably remembered at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.

‘The Wentworth Falls War Memorial’, originally located at the corner of the Great Western Highway and Station Street and...
23/08/2026

‘The Wentworth Falls War Memorial’, originally located at the corner of the Great Western Highway and Station Street and relocated to Coronation Park, off the Great Western Highway in 1984. Wentworth in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Erected 1920. Dedicated April 1921 by the NSW State Governor.

The war memorial is a tall Sydney Granite column set into a carved sandstone plinth in the “Classical” style. It is seated on a four stepped rectangular sandstone platform, with a carved sphere and wreath at the top and three plaques attached at the base.

The dedication plaque reads:

“To the Glory of God and in everlasting remembrance of our fellow citizens who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War 1914-1919.”

A second plaque lists the names of fourteen local men and one woman who died on active service along their dates of death.

Another roll of honour was placed on the memorial to honour seven men who lost their lives during World War Two. A fourth plaque records later conflicts.

Erected by the residents of Wentworth Falls A.D. 1920.

Two flagpoles are located in the surrounding garden.

Tho memorial was designed by Mr. Burcham Clamp, architect of Sydney, and built by Messers Partridge and Co. at a cost of £700 in 1920. It was dedicated the following year.

The memorial was relocated to Coronation Park in front of the Wentworth Falls railway station in 1984.

Credit: NSW War Memorials Register, ‘Trove’ Newspaper archive, and photographs by ‘C.B’ Bryett.

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2 Colony Crescent
Dubbo, NSW
2830

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