A Digger from Euroka who died on the Western Front in World War I will be commemorated at a Last Post ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Private William Charles Woods was just 22 years old when he was shot and killed at the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium in 1917.
The Euroka soldier is the great-uncle of South West Rocks’ Col Barnett, who has become the proud custodian of the Digger’s history.
The Last Post ceremony is held daily at 4.55pm with a different soldier commemorated each day. Applications can be made for specific soldiers to be recognised, with Col nominating his great-uncle in December 2014.
“It’s a bit like the lottery – if you don’t buy a ticket, you don’t have a chance,” Col explained.
Col will travel to Canberra for the event and will lay a wreath during the October 25 commemoration.
He said the daily ceremony was an important part of recognising the sacrifices of the young Australians who have died at war, as well as acknowledging the toll it took on their families.
“I just thought people like William had to be recognised,” he said.
“In those days, people never knew what happened to their family members. It must have been heartbreaking for the families.”
Col said that the ceremony would bring “closure” after a long process of research into the life and service of Private Woods.
This has included Col visiting the resting place of his great-uncle at the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium in 2010, as well as narrowing down the location of Private Woods’ wounding to within half a kilometre by analysing battle records.
“Now we go to the Australian War Memorial and get to see the whole country recognise his contribution,” Col said.
The ceremony will be live streamed at awm.gov.au