Gympie's Great War series

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Name index

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These books focus on effects the Great War had on volunteers and their families in the Wide Bay area. The series celebrates the important role of the local newspapers The Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette. This is how the people would have kept up to date on what was happening both locally and on the front. From the enlistments, departures to camps, leaving Australia and what they were faced with on arrival in the strange new lands, was all reported back home via reports and letters home. The format of the books are in date order – showing daily activities through the years from voluntary enlistments, newspaper reporting, personal letters and diary entries and roll honours for the missing or deceased. The photos, records and accounts have been sourced from many places such as

Australian War Memorial
Births Deaths and Marriages
Trove (digital newspapers)
personal letters and diaries

1914 - The Great Adventure begins

The Gympie Times was instrumental for recording the events leading up to the declaration of war and how this affected every single person. The passions that were fired up by the men when they joined the call up. The fundraising by so many organisations and individual people. The children who raided their piggy banks and sang songs to send money “so the Belgium babies could have milk”. The socks and gloves that were knitted to keep the boys warm in their first cold winter. So many men enlisted from the Wide Bay area. Some had previously fought in the Boer War and came home experienced. Many of these men became Officers and led the new recruits on their big adventure. Most of the men (and boys) were from the land and were riflemen. In fact they were the first ones selected in many cases. The story of the Omrah features heavily in 1914 as does its sister ship Star of England as they were the first two ships that took “our boys” off the shores of Australia.

1915 Gallipoli - The ANZAC legend is born

In early 1915, it was decided to carry out an amphibious landing on the Gallipoli peninsula with the goal of opening up a second front and securing the passage of the Dardanelles. The Australians and New Zealanders, grouped together as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), went ashore on 25 April 1915 and for the next eight months the Anzacs and their allies fought a campaign against the Turks. The force was evacuated from the peninsula in December 1915 and returned to Egypt.

Volume 1 covers January to June

Volume 2 continues from July to December

1916 Europe

Most of the light horse units remain in the Middle East to carry out further carrying out further operations against the Turks in Egypt and Palestine. The Australian infantry divisions are redirected to France to fight in battles along the Western Front. Squadrons of the Australian Flying Corps served in the Middle East and on the Western Front, and elements of the Royal Australian Navy carried out operations in the Atlantic, North Sea, Adriatic and Black Sea, as well as the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Small numbers of Australians served in other theatres of war.

Volume 1 covers January to June

Volume 2 covers July to December

1917 - 18 Europe and Peace

The war continues to grind on in Europe until the fighting ended at 11am on 11 November 1918. It took a further 6 months of negotiations to conclude the peace treaty known as the Treaty of Versailles. The grim reality of war and the euphoria of peace is documented in local newspapers, letters in service files and letters home.

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Missing photos and/or details

Despite our best efforts some service personnel’s stories are incomplete. We are missing a photo or have too little detail about their experience.

Can you help?

The index identifies personnel whose story is incomplete.

Do you have a photo or details to add to their story? Or did we miss someone?

Email us at secretary@gfhs.com.au with their story and copies of photos and documents.

Or visit us during opening hours (see below) and we can copy your photos and documents in our rooms.

Name index (COMING SOON)

Proudly produced through a grant received from the Department of Veterans Affairs and support from the Queensland Government.

This is not an official publication of the State of Queensland. The material contained in this publication does not necessarily represent the views of the Queensland government or its policies. To avoid doubt, the State of Queensland accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any errors, faults, defects or omissions in the information contained in this publication.

CONTACT US

Email secretary@gfhs.com.au

Phone: (07) 5482 8211

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OPENING HOURS

Wednesday: 9:30am – 2:00pm
Friday: 9:30am – 12:00pm
Saturday: 1:00pm – 4:00pm

LOCATION

1 Chapple Street, Gympie Qld 4570

In the Old Ticket Office under the Rattler Railway Station. View map

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Disclaimer: The information/text material found within is posted with good conscience and thought to be true and correct, but we do not guarantee the information/text material and must be viewed in a similar way as other information on the internet. Our Society website is maintained by our members who volunteer their time and skills.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and pay our respects to the elders of the past, present and emerging.