In researching the names of places of origin for soldiers of the two world wars, the Office of Australian War Graves came up with 23,844 unique place names.
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These are listed, etched in granite, on the memorial wall in Londown, and one can search for their own home town name at awmlondon.gov.au.
In Binalong, many families have relatives who served in the Australian Forces, John Blair is one of these. John’s father went to war, survived years on the battlefront, serving for over three and a half years, and returned to Australia.
Like many veterans he did not speak of his time at war. Below is an account of William Blair's service and extracts from his 1918 diary.
William Athol Blair enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on February 1, 1916. He was appointed as a Driver Regimental Transport, regimental number 1404, within the 33rd Battalion (Bn) AIF. In April, 1916 he was appointed as a Sergeant, Orderly Room Clerk.
In May he embarked from Australia to the United Kingdom. Then, on November 21, 1916, he proceeded to France, from Southampton.
Blair left a diary recounting his movements throughout 1918 and extracts are seen below. He used the terminology of the soldiers to describe the Fritz (Germans), Hun (Germans), Froggies (French) and Yanks (Americans).
In March there is significant movement, he writes:
22nd: misty all morning, moved from Belle Brune at 4.30pm and marched to Lottonghem, arriving there at 10pm. Sat in the cold but later made good fires out of the Froggie's wood.
23rd: After sitting up all night, I got in a cattle truck train at 4.30am and arrived at Abeele Station at 9am. Marched to billets about six miles out. Fritz’s big offensive responsible for all this.
24th: Moved from Belle Brune and marched three miles and were lifted by motor lorries to Secques. We are bound for the big fight.
Sergeant William Blair was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in March 1918, the citation stated; “For untiring energy initiative and devotion to duty ... His cheerful and ready acceptance of every task imposed on him ... During active operations he has distinguished himself by his courage, coolness and resourcefulness...” The entire 33rd Battalion was honoured with only 10 of these medals.
His diary relates some of the horror he encountered;
April 17: Battalion shelled with gas after we had put a six-hour gas strafe on him. Our casualties enormous.
April 18: 33rd Battalion pretty nearly wiped out, only about 200 left.
April 19: About 140 left in the Battalion. And some hope for an end.
April 22: Gen Birdwood looked us up and I spoke to him. He said it would not be long before we would get home.There were times when just being alive seemed good but often this did not last long.
April 23: Beautiful day.
April 24: Bosch attached on 17-mile front. Only success he took Villers Bretonneux.
April 25: 4th Division counter attacked and drove him one kilometre back from his starting point.
April 26: Very quiet. Nothing doing.
May 4: Sad memories of two years ago. [I] Feel miserable. Two years today, on Active Service and I have seen something.
May 23: A bit cooler today. [I] Wrote letters home. A few more shells from Fritz today. A couple wounded.
In the European summer of 1918, time passed slowly but progress was made.
June 1: Fritz still advancing but much slower. We are holding him on the same front as on March the 30th.
June 2: Beautiful day. Fritz put a few shells into the river but we had our swim.
June 3: Again beautiful day, and warm. Am quite tanned up like old the times.
June 4: Ditto… 5 June: Ditto… 6-9 June: Ditto.
August 30: We move into support tonight and expect to hop over tomorrow night. Fritz shelling very heavily. A few casualties.
September 6: Beautifully warm day and our clothes soon dried, but it was a cold night. The Hun is going [retreating] for his life, but is burning villages on his way.
September 30: Cold and bleak day. Yanks did not do as well as expected. Inexperienced but game. They broke through.
October 8: Fine day. Fairly busy. Paper news so grand, regarding an armistice asked for by Germany.
October 19: Raining in morning. News splendid from the front.
October 24: Preparing to play 34th Battalion Football.
October 31: Fine day again. Picked up a cold again but have shaken it off. Scared about this influenza.
Finally the end...
November 11: 6.30am I received the grand news of an armistice to take place at 11am today. Everybody happy and I am sure my little wife is.
William Blair did indeed catch influenza later in November and spent some time in hospital. However, back with his Battalion in December, he writes:
Moved at 7.30am to Chepy. Not a bad little village. Actually has electric light in it.
This provides yet another insight in to the conditions encountered by troops during the war.
On December 22, 1918, he left France for London. It was not until many months later that he arrived back in Australia. He was finally discharged from service to civilian life in July 1919.
William Blair returned to his wife in Sydney and apart from a few years working in Morphett, near Newcastle, spent the rest of his life there. He raised three children, his son John Blair, now 90, lives in Binalong with his wife of 59 years, Norma.
John does not remember his father or his mother speaking of the war years, as with so many returned men, they closed their minds to the carnage they had seen and got on with life.
Life wasn’t always easy, with a growing family and the depression years upon the country.
John remembers visiting the area around Botany Bay on Sunday afternoon drives in the 1935 Dodge, and seeing the returned servicemen who camped in shacks in the hills for want of better accommodation. Being young he didn’t give them much thought.
"It didn’t dawn on one until later that this was the result of war,” he said.
Today, he remembers their hardship with compassion.
When the Second World War broke out, William was against John serving his country. He tried hard to dissuade him from joining up but, at 18, in August 1942, John enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force.
“We would listen to the radio and hear the Japanese advancing, down and down and down right through Asia, it was frightening to see them coming down,” John said.
John served throughout World War Two returning home when hostility ceased and was discharged in March, 1946.