The Australian Remembrance Army and Friends of Lutwyche Cemetery Inc invite the community to a special unveiling service this month to honour 162 WWI veterans, who now have their graves marked with a plaque.
The ceremony marks a significant milestone in a project that has been five years in the making, led by co-founders of the Australian Remembrance Army and committee members of Friends of Lutwyche Cemetery, Katrina Trevethan and Cate Walker.
“We co-founded the Australian Remembrance Army in 2020 to locate and mark unmarked graves of war veterans and care for private headstones of returned service personnel not officially commemorated,” Katrina said. “Our research uncovered over 900 WWI veterans in unmarked graves at Lutwyche Cemetery.”
To date, the volunteer-run project has resulted in the marking of 709 WWI veterans’ graves. Katrina and Cate have dedicated hundreds of hours to researching service records, confirming details, drafting inscriptions, contacting families, and coordinating plaque production with Worssell and Co and installation by Queensland Heritage Masonry.
Two ceremonies held in 2023 commemorated 547 veterans in ANZAC Portions 7 and 8, funded by the Federal Government. Recent installations in Portion 9 and monumental sections were supported through the Queensland Remembers Grant.
A Ceremony of Dignity and Respect
Cate said this month’s ceremony would ensure the service and sacrifice of veterans were finally acknowledged with dignity and respect.
“Marking these graves with a plaque gives families a tangible place to honour their ancestor’s service, often for the first time,” Cate said. “It restores their name and story to the public record, allowing descendants and the wider community to acknowledge the sacrifices made by local veterans who were previously forgotten.”
Katrina said the ceremonies were very special and quite emotional.
“We have a lot of descendants join us and have connected people related through a veteran who never knew each other, and reconnected others with family they had lost contact with,” she said.
The ceremony will feature the Australian Living History Federal re-enactment group, representing the 15th Battalion AIF in period uniform for the guard of honour, along with a performance by the Pine Rivers Brass Band.
An additional 83 plaques are set to be installed by year’s end.
Unveiling Ceremony to Honour the Service of 162 WWI Veterans
- Saturday, 20 September, 11am
- Lutwyche Cemetery (ANZAC Portion 9)
- 418 Gympie Road, Kedron
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