Our Group was honoured to be work with James Yeates Printing on the ‘Their Duty Done’ project.
Twice a year, on Anzac Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November) the Bairnsdale Advertiser
published an eight page lift-out honouring the men and women of East Gippsland who died as a
result of World War One. We undertook the research for this supplement by compiling biographies
and, where possible, finding photographs, of those who died. This list will be as complete and as
comprehnsive as possible creating a whole of East Gippsland ‘Roll of Honour’ ensuring that each
name is known. The biographies (there are many more than printed in the eight supplements), are
available on the website we have created and dedicated to this purpose. Please follow this link to our
sister website www.theirdutydone.com
Here you will find, eventually, every one of the names, in excess of six hundred who died who had an
association with East Gippsland.
Their Duty Done
A sample page from the lift out produced
by the Bairnsdale Advertiser twice yearly in
April and November.
With the upheaval that happened to families during 1914-1919 it is little wonder that some names
were never included on district Honour rolls and memorials. In some instances the parents of a
soldier who gave his life had also died before memorials were created. Families were destroyed and
lost just as some of the names of those who served were likewise lost. This is our effort to find those
lost names.
It takes time, a lot of time, and as we are all volunteers this will go on for many years to come.
Thousands of hours have already been spent trawling newspapers and archives for snippets of
information to create accurate and interesting biographies of those who died.
As a result of the work done to identify those who paid the supreme sacrifice we have collated
thousands of names of those who served and returned. We hope, in due course, to create
biographies, with images, of these individuals as well. Their names too, will be added to the website
as a permanent legacy of their efforts.
Do you have family with a connection to East Gippsland that served?
If so, please contact our Group. We ask anyone with a personal story of family members who served
in World War One, whether they lived or died, to contact us. You may have the photograph we are
looking for, or letters that will give much more insight into their war experience, or simply a contact
for someone else who might be able to help us. You may be able to help with our goal of sharing
information and having complete individual stories for future generations.
