More than a century after the start of World War I, the echoes of that terrible conflict continue.
More than 130 Melton men embarked on the long journey to join the Allies, but only 103 of them returned to their loved ones.
According to Melton Family History Group member Robyn Hunter, the items most coveted by soldiers were socks.
“The soldiers had trench feet … their feet were so painful and bandaged,” she said.
The group has received a $7500 grant from the federal government’s Anzac Centenary local grants program to kick-start its Just Another Pair Of Socks website, which will compile information about the 133 Melton soldiers who served in World War I.
Ms Hunter said the group had information about most of the veterans but was seeking help to identify 17 more – F Baker, C Browning, J Clarke, F G Fisher, P Gault, William A Graham, L James, George Morris, Edward Mulroney, V Reid, A Richmond, William Ernest Riddell, Henry Robinson, William Robinson, Gordon Snowden and L Snowden.
“Once we get the website organised, we’ve negotiated with Melton library to host the site so it will be accessible through the library and publicly available as a research tool,” Ms Hunter said.
People will be able to continue to add information after the website is established.
More information
For more information about the project or to donate, visit www.meltonfamilyhistory.org.
List of soldiers on the Melton cenotaph
Anderson, Charles
Baker, Arthur
Baker, F.
Bartrop, John Henry
Best, Sydney
Black, William John
Bourke, James
Browning, C.
Burton, Robert
Burton, William
Butler, Herbert Augustus Kingsley
Butler, Percival Vivian
Cameron, Archibald
Cameron, Donald
Cameron, Evan Hugh
Cameron, Neil Wilson
Carew, Edward J.
Carpenter, Gordon Thomas
Chalmer, Frank
Clark, A.
Clark, Charles Norton
Clarke, J.
Clement, D.
Close, George
Coburn, Albert John
Coburn, Frederick Henry
Collins, Henry John
Corran, Francis Roy
Dalwood, John/Jock
Davis, G.
Diamond, J.
Dodemaide, William John
Dyble, Frank
Escott, Leslie
Exell, G. P. P – Percy
Exell, Joseph D. P.
Exell, Thomas Stanley Pryse
Farrell, John Sydney
Fisher, F. G.
Fossey Arthur J.
Fossey, Charles Vere
Fossey, George Clyde
Fowler, John Charles
Gault, P. – Robert
Graham, William A.
Greig, Edgar James
Harvey, John Joseph
Hede, Frank
Hogg, William George
Hollingsworth, John
Hornbuckle, James Francis
James, L.
Johnson, James Francis
Jones, W.
Keating, Henry Ernest
Keating, Tasmania D.
Keating, William Dalrymple
Keighran, C.
Kelly, Clive
Kelly, William
Knell, Ernest Marshall
Lang, Horace
Lang, Thomas John
Levings, Alfred Charles
Love, Francis Stanley
Lovell, Charles Henry
Lovell, Edward John
Magnussen, Niels
Martin, Albert
Matheson, Donald
McCorkell, Samuel John Thomas
McDonald, Colin Campbell
McEachen, Archibald
McPherson, John James
McPherson, James Joseph
McPherson, Robert John
Minns, Ernest
Minns, John
Missen, Alexander Peter
Monks, R. – Athelstane Roy
Moore, Peter
Moore, William Thomas
Morris, George
Morris, John
Moulsdale, Charles
Mulroney, Edward
Neal, Francis James
Neal, John William (Jack)
Neal, Keith Elvine Bernard
Nolan, A. – Michael Augustine
Nolan, Joseph
Nolan, Patrick
Nolan, Thomas
Norton, Lewis Everett
O’Callaghan, John Edward / Edwin
O’Callaghan, Stephen
O’Callaghan, Thomas
Pallant, G. A.
Pratt, David Thomas
Pratt, Robert Henry
Reid, V.
Richmond, A.
Riddell, William Ernest
Robinson, Henry
Robinson, William
Sahr, Frederick Harold
Saunders, C. N.
Sawyer, Henry
Scarce, Harold
Schebler, G.
Shaw, George Antoni
Skinner, Stanley McLean
Smith. George Alexander Gordon
Snowden, Gordon
Snowden, L.
Stone, William Charles Edward
Stubbs, Percival
Tedcastle, Axal George
Turner, James Henry
Tyler, Samuel Henry
Tyrell, P.
Wakeham, W.
Ward, D.
Ware, George William
Watson, E. – Albert E
Whiteside, John
Whiteside, William
Wickham, Gilbert
Wickham, Walter
Wilson, Albert James
Wilson, G. – William Gordon
Wilson, Stanley. A.
Wynne, Robert John
Young, R.
