This year’s Anzac Day service at the Arch of Victory will remember 19 Ballarat men who served in the First World War and returned home, but returned with wounds or illness that claimed their lives in the years immediately after the War.

Arch of Victory/Avenue of Honour Committee President, Garry Snowden, said, “These men are usually not thought of when we remember our ‘fallen’, but the Office of Australian War Graves determined that the death of each of these men was attributed to their military service.”

“We so often fall into the trap of assuming that those who came home just settled back into life as it was before they went away. Certainly, these days we are better at recognising that many of our veterans carry physical and mental wounds that area direct consequence of their service, but that wasn’t the case in the 1920s.”

“By remembering these 19 men, and telling some of their stories, we are really remembering and honouring all of those men and women who have served our country but who then endured ongoing health issues attributable to their service.”

The service at the Arch will commence at 8.00am, but as a prelude to the service, a recently written song about Ballarat’s Avenue of honour will be played. During the service several local dignitaries and school delegations will lay wreaths, but anyone attending the service will be welcome to leave a tribute. The service is scheduled to conclude at 8.30am.

The men to be remembered at the service are Francis Samuel Dean, George Pocock, David Arthur Wallace, Andrew Victor Sharp, Sydney Clues, Niven Alph Neyland, Thomas Francis Richards, Harry Clee, Victor John Todd, Herbert James Tuohill, Benjamin Thomas Cartledge, Henry James Whitefield, George Dyer, Harry Murfett, Herbert Rich, Leslie Albert Cleverley, William Horton Angwin, Hamilton Morrow and Oscar Trafford Dell.

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