The night involved the 32 tour students sharing their reflections of the tour as well as presenting grave and memorial photos to the relatives of the men commemorated on the overseas tour.
Key note speaker for the evening was Mr Doug Formby, President of the QLD RSL. Mr Formby praised the students and their endeavours in keeping the country’s wartime history alive.
A total of 115 men were honoured on behalf of families from around Australia. The photographs of 68 of these men were presented at the evening and relatives from as far away as Sydney were in attendance.
FFFAIF member, Peter Roberts, from the Gold Coast, flew to Mackay for the evening and accepted a photo of his grandfather’s name which appears on the Australian National Memorial in France.
Photo: Peter Roberts and Bronte English [Mike Goodwin]
FFFAIF member Peter Roberts with tour student Bronte English, who researched and commemorate Peter’s relative, James Patterson.
“I have never had the chance to visit my grandfather’s memorial or the area where he was killed. The students have done something very special and it means so much to my family,” he said.
Another relative to attend was Craig Margetts from Mackay. Craig is the relative of Captain Ivor Margetts of the 12th Battalion. Ivor was killed at Pozieres and is a well know AIF identity, being the only British officer to serve unwounded at Gallipoli for the full duration of the campaign.
Craig Margetts, relative of Captain Ivor Margetts, with tour student Jillian Beanland, who underrtook extensive research into Ivor’s death and subsequent battlefield burial.
Tour member, Stephanie Ferguson, delivered the student address on behalf of the group and said that the tour has become a defining event in her life.
“The memories from this tour will last a lifetime. I felt such a connection with our own countrymen buried so far from Australia. It was an honour to visit them and to give them some of our time,” she said.
Tour co-ordinator, Mike Goodwin indicated to the audience that, with similar future student support, the project is set to continue and he will look to organise another school commemorative tour in 2010.
Photo: Duane Russell and Greg Carroll. [Mike Goodwin]
Tour student Duane Russell presents grave photos to Mackay resident, Greg Carroll. Greg’s relatives Stanley Middleton and Harold Jones were commemorated by Duane.
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The Families and Friends of the First AIF thanks the Australian, UK and French governments for affording Australian and British soldiers – presently buried in mass graves at Pheasant Wood – dignified individual reburials in a new CWGC cemetery at Fromelles, and applauds Minister Snowdon and his British counterpart, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans, Kevan Jones MP, for their joint decision to DNA test the remains at exhumation and use every reasonable method to attempt identification of each soldier.