The Brothers-In-Arms Memorial Project has worked for years to create a memorial in Belgium to recognize all the Australian brothers who fought for their country in World War I.

Two Kempsey residents, Debbie Reynolds and Jocelyn Bakewell are seeking to extend the work of Brothers-In-Arms to local families to recognise the extraordinary contribution of some families to the war effort.

Jocelyn and Debbie are researching families with brothers from the Macleay district who fought and were killed in action in the First World War. Ultimately, they hope to publish a book of the Macleay Brothers-In-Arms.

Of course, siblings are not always easy to identify. Names might have changed. Records might have been confused. And some were known to enlist under false identities in order to meet the age requirement.

If you think you might have ancestors who qualify Debbie and Jocelyn would love to hear from you and help find out. They may have been born here, resided and worked here before enlisting, or possibly they enlisted in Kempsey. Perhaps they enlisted in 1916 to join the North Coast Route March when it passed through Kempsey.

The family names the pair are currently researching include: Brandon, Bridson, Burniston, Carey, Cook, Crossingham, Dornan, Dyson, Gamack, Keleher, Martin, McGree, McIlwain, Nalder, Partridge, Price, Ryan, Salmon, Smith.

To contribute information to this project or for more information please call in to the KFGH Meeting Room at the Kempsey Railway Station any Tuesday or Thursday between 10am and 2pm or on Saturday mornings.

Alternatively you can write to the Kempsey Family History Group at P.O. Box 384, Kempsey or email kempseyfhg@hotmail.com.

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