A young farmhand and ward of the state, all but forgotten to history, will this week be honoured for his World War I service.
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Herbert Hamilton, 27, listed his boss – a Millers Forest farmer – as his next of kin and would never to return from the Western Front.
He was but one of 60,000 Australians killed in action.
With no family, his British War Medal and Victory Medal went into a Melbourne Army records storage facility.
They were among the 2500 tonnes-worth of unclaimed medals – until the Raymond Terrace and District Historical Society applied to the Department of Veteran Affairs to bring Herb’s medals home.
“It really moved us that no one’s thought about him in all that time,” Yvonne Fletcher said.
Ms Fletcher with John Gillam first came across Herb Hamilton’s name five years ago in their research for the book Their Story: Service Sacrifice and Community Support on the 128 fallen soldiers between Nelson Bay and Paterson.
His name had not long prior been added to the Raymond Terrace war memorial.
“The Army would publish notices in the paper of the unclaimed medals which helped our search,” Mr Gillam said.
“But when we got in touch with the Department of Veteran Affairs they were adamant his medals had been issued.”
Paterson MP Meryl Swanson made fruitful inquiries of her own.
The medals will officially be bestowed on the historical society on Saturday at Sketchley Cottage.
“If you look at the edge of the medals you’ll find his name and service number,” Mr Gillam said.
“That and the fact there’s some tarnish on them, we don’t think they’re reproductions.
“We think they’re the originals.”
There are no known photographs of Herb.
His records state he was 159 centimetres tall and 52 kilograms, with “fresh complexion”, hazel eyes and brown hair.
He sailed out of Melbourne, missing any local fanfare and arrived in France August 1916.
On September 3, he was listed as ‘Missing in Action’, and later ‘Killed in Action’ while with the 51st Battalion, among Gallipoli veterans.
His name appears on memorial panel 152 of the Australian War Memorial, on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial.
On his death records show his boss (next of kin) Thomas Elkin had applied for a gratuity, which was refused.
“We’re treating this as the coming home he never received,” Mr Gillam said.
