They were young men who went to war in a faraway land on the other side of the planet almost 100 years ago.
Some were not even 18 and many did not come back home.
And for quite a few of them home was Liverpool or Campbelltown.
Officially they are M.I.A.s – Missing in Action, but a former Liverpool mayor turned military historian believes it’s quite possible their remains may be among those found at Fromelles in France
Gary Lucas wants you to have a look at the photos and read their details below and tell him if they are related to you or your families.
All are soldiers who went MIA in the Fromelles on July 19, 1916.
Improvements in technology have meant that today their remains may be able to be identified.
The critical factor, Mr Lucas says, is the availability of the DNA of any surviving relatives of the MIAs.
“What I’d like is for the relatives to come forward with their contacts so that
their DNAs can be used to help identify them,’’ he says.
Mr Lucas said a few years ago another one of the Liverpool
soldiers was identified, as Sampson V.H.B, and his remains reinterred at
Fromelles on July 19, 2010.
“I had the honour of laying a wreath on
behalf of the City of Liverpool sub-branch of the RSL at Sampson’s burial site,’’ Mr Lucas said.
Gary Lucas, who also served as secretary of the Liverpool sub-branch, in 2006 became interested in looking up Liverpool’s military history.
“I got fed up hearing people calling Liverpool a military town but not doing anything about it. Military town, so what,’’ he says.
He has since spent countless hours looking up thousands of names trying to identify anyone from the Liverpool district who fought – and often died – for Australia on some foreign country.
The former mayor, who just missed out on being re-elected to Liverpool Council at the last elections in 2012, says he has no regrets now. Quite the opposite in fact.
“No, I don’t miss it at all now,’’ he says.
What with the research into Liverpool military history and constant travel here and overseas, he says life is busier than ever.
It’s just great,’’ Gary Lucas says.
The soldiers Mr Lucas needs to hear from relatives are:
Aspinall Frederick J.S, born Hunters Hill 1890, lived at Liverpool, M.I.A Fromelles 19/07/1916;
Clarke Roy A, born Jerilderie, lived at Liverpool, M.I.A Fromelles 19/07/1916;
Comerford Michael, born Carlow, Ireland, lived at Liverpool, M.I.A Fromelles 19/07/1916;
McDonald Lionel S, born Glenn Innes, parents lived at Macquarie Fields, M.I.A Fromelles 19/07/1916;
Watson Leonard L, born Ipswich, England, wife
Minnie lived at Liverpool, M.I.A Fromelles 19/07/1916.
If you have some information or can help Gary in his quest to identify these heroic men who lost their lives in France, please email him on: gjlucas@bigpond.net.eu
