Sydney born Harley Cohen was one of the first to enlist in WWI. His service number in the 4th Battalion was a very low 37. He was a slight figure, only 5′ 3″ tall and weighing in at a shade over 8 stone. He was university
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For many years a retired grazier from Forbes, Mr James Smart Leslie, had a home in the Blue Mountains at Blackheath. He named it Balquhain, after an ancestral property in Scotland. When WWI broke out, Mr Leslie and his wife Elizabeth (Betsy) were anxious to help. ‘I
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On February 4 1908, Australian military officials approved a site at the coal mining town of Lithgow in New South Wales for a small arms factory. The fact that coal could be delivered to the site very cheaply was an important factor in the choice. With the
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When the troopship Geelong left Hobart on October 20 1914, it carried the Tasmanian contingent of the 12th Battalion to Egypt, and thence to Gallipoli and France. There was a unique mascot on board, a Tasmanian devil. I’m not sure whether the practice was officially sanctioned, but
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On April 26 1915, the day after the dawn landing at Gallipoli, Sapper Duncan McRae (2nd Field Co. of Engineers) was shot in the shoulder by a Turkish sniper. He was evacuated to Egypt and from there to a military hospital
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On May 12 1915, a 21 year old clerk with the New South Wales shire of Murrumbidgee enlisted in World War I. His name was Eric Richard Conolly. He became a member of the 3rd Battalion A.I.F. Initially, Private Conolly served at Gallipoli, and was on the
Read more →A TIME OF CHANGE Recently I found an unusual watch in a family jewel box. I can only assume it belonged to my husband’s grandfather, Wallace Conolly. The band has vanished, but otherwise it is in reasonable condition. It has a hinged, deep case reminiscent of a
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*THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED, IN A SLIGHTLY SHORTER VERSION, IN THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. FROM THE BATTLEFIELD TO SAVING SOULS. Much has been written about the mysterious ‘Mr Eternity’, Arthur Stace, who chalked his famous one word sermon throughout the streets of Sydney. Less well
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