Berwick Footballers who enlisted

This is a report from the Berwick Shire News of March 8, 1916 which lists the 23 Berwick Football Club players who had enlisted for active service (even though the article says 24). I have done some research to try to work out who these men were and I have also used the research of Chris McKenna of the Berwick RSL, who has researching local soldiers for many years.  I have listed their Service Numbers (SN) so you can look up  their full record on the National Archives site www.naa.gov.au

Berwick Shire News March 8, 1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page8579525

Avard, Hugo (Richard Hugo Turnbull Avard) (SN 1851) Hugo worked for the Post Office before he enlisted on September 11, 1915. He returned to Australia on September 26, 1917.

Bannan, John Joseph. (SN 1126) He is listed as Bannon on the War Memorial in Berwick and as Badnan on the Nominal rolls. John was quarryman, who enlisted on June 14, 1915 aged 24. He was married to Mary Ann and they lived in Berwick. He died of disease on October, 16, 1918.

Baxter, Frederick Edward (SN 4440) Fred enlisted on March 5, 1915. He was a gunner. He was Killed in Action in France on August 22, 1918. 

This is a report from The South Bourke and Mornington Journal of May 6, 1915 about Gunner Baxter's enlistment.

Bragg, Arthur Robert (SN 2564)  Arthur and his wife Emily had the Central Hotel Beaconsfield. Arthur enlisted on August 2, 1915 at the age of 39. He was Killed in Action on July 19, 1916.   Arthur is also listed on the Beaconsfileld War Memorial.

The Truth November 27, 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119779493

I found this interesting account of Arthur Bragg's divorce in The Truth newspaper of  November 27, 1915 - it's a bit hard to read but it appears that Mrs Bragg owned a hotel in Cloncurry, which she sold and she then purchased the Central Hotel in Beaconsfield. Arthur got into debt, they quarrelled and he joined up, but later admitted that he had been 'misconducting himself with women' The couple had three children. It lists his age as 44, 5 years older than the age he gave when he enlisted.  

Brocklebank, Ralph Thomas. (SN 3012) Lieutenant Brocklebank enlisted on July 20, 1915 age 22. He was a Bank Clerk. He returned to Australia April, 27 1919.

Buchanan, Eric Alexander. (SN 1676). Eric was a Clerk from Berwick when he enlisted on July 14, 1915 age 21. He was in the Light Horse and returned to Australia on July 23, 1919.

Clements, John William Henry  (SN 5995) John was a teacher at Officer State School when he enlisted on June 16, 1916. he returned to Australia September 25, 1919.

Crabtree, Walter (SN 242a). Walter, a driver, enlisted in Berwick on February 29, 1916. He returned to Australia August 22, 1919.

Faragher, Leslie Victor (SN 2624) Leslie was employed by R. J Espie as a blacksmith before he enlisted on August 2, 1915. He was Killed in Action in France on May 16, 1916.

Fleer, Harold Edward (SN 3112). Harold was a farmer from Harkaway when he enlisted on July 7, 1915 aged 18. Hist parents Edward and Martha Fleer, gave permission as Harold was under 21. Harold returned to Australia on April, 13, 1919.

Griffin, James Daniel (SN 26752) James, a labourer,  was living in Berwick when he enlisted on January 17, 1916. Returned to Australia June 16, 1919.

Grigg, Donald Douglas (SN 85a) Donald was a farmer and lived in Berwick when he enlisted on March 24, 1915.   Returned to Australia January 2, 1919.

Lewis, Frederick (SN 3897) Frederick was 24 when he enlisted. His occupation was baker's driver. His next of kin was his father, Caleb Lewis, of Wilson Street, Berwick.  Fred Returned to Australia March 28, 1919. Fred worked for Donald Rowe, baker, of Narre Warren. You can read about him, here. 

Loveridge, Ellis (Alfred Ellis Loveridge) ( SN 7880) Storekeeper of Berwick and enlisted on June 15, 1915. Returned to Australia May 3, 1919. 

Lyall, Edmund Ramsden (SN 3170). Edmund was a teacher at the Berwick State school when he enlisted July 24, 1915 aged 20 years, 11 months. He was the son of  John Lyall of Jindivick. Edmund was Killed in Action, in France, on November, 11 1916.

McKay, Albert Duncan (SN 4758) Albert, a labourer,  enlisted on February 2, 1916 and Returned to Australia on June 6, 1918.

Munro, Robert (SN 6542) Robert was a Quarryman and enlisted on June 5, 1915. Not surprisingly, as he had worked in a Quarry he was a Sapper. He returned to Australia April 13, 1919.

O'Sullivan, William (SN 3867) William was 27 when he enlisted on July 9, 1915. He is next of kin was listed as his cousin, Maud Maynard. He died of a self-inflicted gun shot wound on July 19, 1916. 

Randle, Henry George (SN 1274). Henry enlisted on July 7, 1915 aged 27. He was an orchardist from Narre Warren. Henry returned to Australia on May 15, 1919. He was in the First Light Horse Regiment.

Sherriff, Arthur Mason (SN 4529)  Arthur was a nursery man of Narre Warren and enlisted on December 24, 1915. He returned to Australia August 25, 1917. 

Smith, Clarence John (SN 107) Clarence, a horse driver,  enlisted February 4, 1916 and was Killed in Action in Belgium on June 8, 1917.

Warne, Charles Frederick Peneligon  (SN 254) Charles was 42 years old and a painter when he enlisted on January 29, 1916. He Returned to Australia Septermber 23, 1919.

Young, Walter Leslie (SN 632) There is a Walter Leslie Young listed in the 1914 Electoral roll, occupation merchant, address Narre Warren North and a Walter Leslie Young, occupation grocer, enlisting on February 2, 1916 so I believe that W. Young is this person. Plus there is an account of a Private Walter Young having a farewell social at Narre Warren North in April 1916, so I am confident we have the correct man. Walter Returned to Australia on May 27, 1919.

Patriotic Concerts

Not long after the  Great War commenced, communities had already began to hold concerts and events to raise money for the 'war effort'.  Here are reports about three  early concerts - one held at Berwick on August 26, 1914; Tonimbuk on October 3, 1914 and the other held at Koo-Wee-Rup on October 30, 1914. These reports are of interest for a number of  reasons - firstly they show how quickly small towns were to support the 'war effort.' Secondly, the reports provide an interesting snapshot of the social life of small towns at the time - who was involved and what songs and music were presented. Finally, they are interesting from a family history point of view - perhaps one of your ancestors or relatives were involved in the concerts. 

South Bourke and Mornington Journal September 3. 1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66186065

Bunyip Free Press October 8, 1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129629643

South Bourke and Mornington Journal  November 5, 1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66186454

Exemption Courts

This article is from the Dandenong Advertiser of October 26,  1916 and is an account of the activities of Dandenong Exemption Court held on October 17 before Mr Vivian Tanner, P.M. The Court heard applications from men from Springvale, Clayton, Keysborough, Dandenong and also from our area - so below are some of the applications and outcomes from men from the Shire of Cranbourne and the Shire of Berwick. 

Dandenong Advertiser of October 26,  1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88663285

What was an Exemption Court?  The government made a proclamation at the beginning of October 1916 declaring all unmarried able-bodied men between the ages of 21 and 35 were to undertake military training leading to the possibility of service within the Commonwealth. All men meeting those criteria had to enrol at enrolment centres where they were assessed for suitability. However, there was a procedure whereby men classified as suitable could appeal and be granted exception from service. http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/

Courts were set up in each Federal Electorate and men who wished to be exempt from military training had to fill out a form in duplicate, deliver it to the military registrar and they would then be able to put their case at the Exemption Court. The article from The Argus, below, outlines the process.

The Argus October 2, 1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1629845

I have created a list of newspaper articles about the Exemption Courts on Trove, click here to access the list.

Berwick Grammar School Avenue of Honour and War Memorial

There are three Avenues of Honour in Berwick which commemorate the service of local people in the First World War.  The City of Casey has produced a book on the Avenues in their region, including the three Berwick ones. You can down-load a copy of the book here.

The smallest of these Avenues is the one in Church Street in Berwick which commemorates the nine soldiers who were killed and who had attended Berwick Grammar School. This school operated from 1882 until 1928 and was located in the building on the corner of Church Street and Brisbane Street, in Berwick.

This is the memorial stone, in Church Street, which lists the names of the nine soldiers.

The Argus June 12, 1920

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1710870

We know the Avenue of Honour was planted in June 1920 and an Honour Board listing the names of the 66 'old boys' who joined up was unveiled at the same time and I presume the memorial stone in Church Street was also erected at this time.

Who are the nine boys, who were honoured by the Avenue in Church Street?  It is not always that easy to specifically identify the names on a memorial and in this case, as Berwick Grammar was a boarding school as well as  a day school, many of the students did not have a local address, so I was lucky to find the following article on Trove

, 

Berwick Shire News February 9, 1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92090882

As you can see the article lists a number of 'old boys' who had already joined up in 1916, some of whom are on the Avenue of Honour stone. Below is a list of the nine students and their Service Numbers (SN). You can access their full service records on the National Archives of Australia website, www.naa.gov.au

Brunn, E.D'A. This is Eric D'Arcy Brunn (SN 3357) even though his enlistment papers at the National Archives have his surname as Bruun, Eric was born in Seymour and was 38 years old and living in Woodend when he enlisted on June 18, 1917. He was Killed in Action in France on April 25, 1918. I am unsure whether Brunn or Bruun was the correct surname -  his sister, Alice D'Arcy Brunn enlisted as a nurse in 1915 and yet I have found them on the Electoral Roll as both Brunn and Bruun. 

Elmes, H. O.  Herbert Oliver Elmes (SN 1543) was born in Berwick and living in Tasmania when he enlisted at the age of 40, on November 30, 1914. He was Killed in Action in France on November 5, 1916. His father, Thomas, was the Doctor in Berwick from around 1870 until his death on 1893.

Gaunt, E.G.  I believe this is Edwin George Gaunt (SN 2604). He was born at Yarraville and enlisted at the age of 37 on July 7, 1915, in New South Wales. He was Killed in Action in France on July 19 or 20, 1916.

Hodgson, S. I can't work out who this is. On the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour there is  only one S. Hodgson listed - Sidney Hodgson (SN 3562)  who was born and enlisted in New South Wales. He was 18 when he enlisted on September 7, 1915 and was Killed in Action in France a year later on October 22. Was this our S. Hodgson? The history of Berwick Grammar School (citation below) has an incomplete list of students and it lists an S. Hodgison -  but I cannot find any Hodgisons who enlisted.  If you know who this might be, I would love to hear from you.

Hope, H.L.  Harry Leslie Hope (SN 61) was born in South Melbourne and was living in Elsternwick  when he enlisted  on June 4, 1915 when he was 30 years of age. He died of wounds, in France, on April 22, 1917. 

Kent, A.E.  Alfred Ernest Kent (SN 3336) was from Narre Warren and enlisted on  August 2, 1915. Alfred's parents, Anthony and Mary Kent had arrived in Narre Warren around 1875 and purchased Granite Park (which they re-named Oatlands). Alfred was married to Alice Webb, the daughter of Sidney and Ann Webb.  Alfred was 40 when he enlisted as was Killed in Action in France on May 5, 1916.

Lyon, C.H. Charles Hugh Lyon (SN 412) was born at Hawksburn and enlisted in Western Australia on September 10, 1914. He was 26  and his next of kin, his mother, was living at Harkaway. Lieutenant Lyon was part of the Camel Corp and was Killed in Action on November 7, 1917 in Palestine. 

Miller, A.H.  Lieutenant Alexander Henderson Miller was born in Berwick  and enlisted, at Beechworth,  on July 15, 1915 aged 29. He was Killed in Action in Belgium on September 25, 1917.

Robin, A. M.  Arthur Mervyn Robin (SN 2180) was born at Camberwell and was 21 years old when he enlisted on March 10, 1915.  He was Killed in Action in France on June 29, 1916.

The Avenue of Honour in Church Street, Berwick.

There is a  history of the Berwick Grammar School - The School that was: a history of the Berwick Grammar School, 1882-1928 by John Bellair. It was published by the author in 1992.

I have created  a list of newspaper articles about the Berwick Boys Grammar School on Trove, click here to access the list.

Les Cochrane - from AIF to MLA

Cochrane Park in Koo-Wee-Rup is named after Leslie James Cochrane.  Mr Cochrane died on April 25, 1972. His funeral was held on April 28 at the Presbyterian Church in Koo-Wee-Rup and attended by an estimated 1,000 people with another 700 people attending the service at the Springvale Crematorium. Mr Cochrane was a man who served his country in the Great War and then served the community after being elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Victorian Parliament.


Leslie was born in Bentleigh in 1894 to David and Lucy (nee Burgess) Cochrane. The family moved to Caldermeade when he was eight. He enlisted in the First World War on May 2, 1916 at the age of 21. His Service Number was 2162.  He was in the 46th Infantry battalion and saw war service in France. He returned to Australia in February 1918 and in the December of the same year he married Ivy, the daughter of Harry and Sarah Wildes of Yannathan.  Leslie and Ivy moved to a soldier settlement block on the Pakenham Road.  After the war, as well as running the farm, Mr Cochrane began a life of community service. He joined the Cranbourne Shire Council in 1930, representing the Koo-Wee-Rup Riding until 1964 and was Shire President on four occasions. It was said he never missed a meeting.

This wonderful photograph belongs to the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp Historical Society and shows Les Cochrane, Billy McGree and Bill Gilchrist and their 'Welcome Home' party in 1918.


Mr Cochrane also represented Gippsland West in the Legislative Assembly from May 1950 until May 1970 for the Country Party. He held various Parliamentary positions and was the Country Party ‘whip’ from 1961 until 1970. When he died, the Premier, Sir Henry Bolte; the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Clive Holding and the leader of the Country Party, Mr Ross-Edwards, each presented a short eulogy on Mr Cochrane in the Victorian Parliament. In fact, Sir Henry pointed out that Mr Cochrane was the last surviving member of this Parliament who served as a member of the Australian Infantry Forces during the First World War. Mr Cochrane was also the President of the Westernport Memorial Hospital Board and he was awarded a Life Membership for his work with the R.S.L. He was a Past Master of the Koo-Wee-Rup Masonic Lodge and an Elder of the Presbyterian Church and was awarded an O.B.E in 1971.


Leslie and Ivy had two children - Irene (Mrs Jack Haw who died in 2001) and Stewart who died in 2000. Mrs Cochrane was also involved in community organizations such as the Presbyterian Ladies Guild and attended the first Koo-Wee-Rup Red Cross meeting. She was Foundation President of the Hospital Ladies Auxiliary and was awarded a Life Governorship of the Hospital in 1974. Mrs Cochrane died in September 1986, aged 91.

Cochrane Park was developed by the Apex Club in 1980 on Railway land. It was then taken over by the Lions Club who named it for Leslie Cochrane.

The two small photographs are from the Koo-Wee-Rup Sun May 3, 1972 from a report about Mr Cochrane's funeral.

Sister Muriel Instone - Army Nurse

Sister Muriel Instone enlisted on May 5, 1915 as an Army Nurse and embarked on the Mooltan on May 18, 1915. She served in hospitals in England and France throughout the War and returned to Australia on the Konigen Luise in January 1920. Table Talk, a weekly Melbourne newspaper at the time, had a full page feature on Nurses who have recently left for the Front in their May 27 1915 issue, so we are lucky to have  a photograph of Muriel.

Table Talk May 27, 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page17433776

Muriel's Embarkation record, from the Australian War Memorial,  is reproduced below. As you can see, her address at the date of her enrolment was Pakenham.  

 Australian War Memorial (click on image to enlarge it) 

www.awm.gov.au

To find out where she lived in Pakenham I went to the Electoral Rolls, available through the Ancestry Family History database. In 1914 Sister Instone was living at IYU, a large property at Pakenham. 

This is the entry for Muriel Instone from the 1914 Federal Electoral roll.

Source: Ancestry Family History database

The IYU run  in Pakenham was taken up in 1839 by Dr W. K. Jamieson. It was originally nearly 13,000 acres (about 5, 200 hectares).  In 1849, William Waddell took over the pastoral lease and after his death his widow, Annie purchased the pre-emptive right section plus other land. Mrs Waddell built a large brick house, pictured below,  on the property in 1858 and this would have been where Muriel was living when she was on the property. The property at that time was around 4,800 acres and some subsequent owners were George Watson, Steven and Samuel Staughton and  John Kitchin, who operated what is thought to be Australia's largest dairy farm on the property.

This is the IYU  Homestead. It was built in 1859 and destroyed by fire around 1929.

Photograph from: In the wake of the pack tracks, published by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

According to the Shire of Berwick rate books, Robert and Constance Staughton took over IYU in 1913, which by then  was a mere 2,000 acres. I believe Robert was the son of former owner, Stephen Staughton. The Electoral Rolls indicate that  Muriel was in Melbourne until about 1914, so I am surmising that she took a job with the Staughtons - they had  four children between three and ten to look after and in March 1915 the entire family came down with ptomaine poisoning or food poisoning and needed medical assistance, so they were fortunate they had  an experienced nurse on hand. 

Dandenong Advertiser March 4, 1915
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88662306

Muriel Instone was born in Riverton, New Zealand in 1878 to Matthew and Emily (nee Brodrick) Instone, so she was 36 when she enlisted in 1915. Muriel was in Victoria in 1903 as she is listed in the Electoral rolls at the Homeopathic Hospital in South Melbourne. The Homeopathic Hospital was renamed Prince Henry's Hospital in 1934. Muriel's service record at the National Archives www.naa.gov.au  also indicates that she had experience at the Women's Hospital, that she had her midwifery certificate,  as well as experience in private hospitals and private nursing.  In 1909, Muriel and Daphne Instone were listed as living at 16 William Street, South Yarra. I am not sure of the relationship between Muriel and Daphne, but she was also a nurse. As I said before Muriel returned to Melbourne in 1920 but I cannot find any trace of her after that until her death on October 11, 1932 aged 54.

I was interested to find that when Muriel was still in England and still with the Australian Army Nursing Service that she undertook a three month motor driving and workshop course at Mansions Motor Training Garage in London and she made good progress and passed satisfactorily.  Many of our Army nurses were single women who had to support themselves and make their own way in the world and this training just supports this idea, so that when Muriel returned to Melbourne she could drive her own car and have a basic knowledge of the mechanics of it.

From Muriel's service record at the National Archives of Australia www.naa.gov.au

Langwarrin Military Reserve

Before Federation each Colony was responsible for its own defence. The Victorian Volunteer Act 1854 allowed for the establishment of volunteer units. From 1860 many towns had their own Volunteer unit , including Dandenong which was the head quarters of the local volunteers.   From 1884, the Volunteer Forces were replaced by the Victorian Militia Force. The Militia forces were part-time like the Volunteers but they were paid.and they were obligated to attend a certain amount of training each year in the form of annual camps.

The Volunteers and the Militia  trained at various locations in Victoria, such as Werribee and Queenscliffe, but it became apparent that a permanent training ground needed to be established by the Victorian Government and,  in 1886, land at Langwarrin was set aside for this purpose. The land had gentle slopes, natural water supplies and  a variety of vegetation. The reserve eventually consisted of 549 acres or 222 hectares.

Encampment Langwarrin 1887

State Library of Victoria Image H90.90/77

The first Langwarrin camp was held at Easter  in  1887.  The first buildings at the Reserve were stores for the Commissariat Corp; other buildings included caretakers quarters and  stables. Roads, Parade Grounds, and a  rifle range were other structures erected.  Numbers at some camps were large - in the 1890s some camps had over 3, 500 men, plus hundreds of horses. Langwarrin was used to train contingents of Victorians who went to the Boer war (1899-1902).

This is part of an article about the first camp held at Langwarrin

Australasian April 9 1887  

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142178555

Originally, access to the Reserve was by trains which stopped at Frankston - after that troops, all supplies , horses etc had to be carted or travel down bush tracks to get to the Reserve.  An extension of the Frankston line was established and this reached the Reserve, with the station being called Langwarrin,  in October 1888.

Langwarrin Camp Ground 1897

State Library of Victoria Image H4457

There was, for  a short time, a School on the Reserve. It was the Langwarrin Railway Station School. No. 3023. This had opened in 1890 in the Presbyterian Hall and then moved to  a purpose built school in 1895 on  the south-west corner of the Reserve, near the corner of McClelland Drive and Robinsons Road. This School burnt down, around 1905 and children then attended the Mornington Junction  School which was built on the corner of McClelland and Golf Links Road , near the railway line. In 1919, the name changed to Baxter and it moved to its present location on the six cross roads in 1954. To be more precise, some children attended the Mornington Junction School, other children did not go to school, as this article from the Mornington  Standard tells us. The parents said that they are more than three miles from the school and thus not required to send their children to school,  unless they take  a short-cut through the Military Reserve, which is a bit dangerous on the days when rifle practice is carried out!

Mornington Standard December 16, 1905

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65825568

The Reserve was handed over to the Commonwealth Government in March 1901 and various training camps were held  intermittently  and in declining frequency until World War One. The Reserve was not used to train men in World War One but it was used to house prisoners of war or internees i.e. German, Austrian and Turkish nationals that were in Australia after war was declared, and the crew of any German ships.  The Internment camp was first occupied at the end of 1914  Huts were built, a gaol was built for those that were deemed to need it. Most of these internees were removed to Liverpool in New South Wales in August 1915.

Victorian Infantrymen in camp at Langwarrin

State Library of Victoria Image H4456

Langwarrin was then used to as a hospital for men infected with venereal diseases, as this was a problem amongst soldiers. At one stage, over 800 men were housed at the Langwarrin Reserve. The Hospital complex had an operating theatre, a dispensary, kitchen, engine house, dental surgery amongst other buildings.  The Langwarrin Camp was closed in February 1921. It was used occasionally for grazing, some training exercises during World War Two, the Frankston small bore rifle club had the lease of some of the land from 1960;  various sub-division proposals came and went and were never acted upon. In 1980 the Victorian Ministry for Conservation took over about 207 hectares of the land, in 1982 the remaining land was purchased and on December 11, 1985 the land became the Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve.

The location of the Langwarrin Military Reserve can be seen on 1938 map, prepared by the grandly named Australian Section Imperial General Staff.

Most of the information in this post comes from the book Australian Aldershot: Langwarrin Miltary Reserve Victoria 1886-1980 by Winty Calder (Jimaringle Publications, 1987)  The Library no longer has a lending copy of this book, we only have  a  reference copy in the Local History collection, which can be accessed by appointment

Hastings Western Port Historical Society has  copies for sale, if you wish to acquire your own copy of this interesting book.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dromana/hastings.htm