Marie Lion migrated with her sister, Berthe Mouchette and her husband in 1885. Berthe established an art school in the city. After the death of her husband the sisters purchased a school, Oberwyl, in St Kilda in 1885. The school was later one of the LHLG schools. Berthe was the founder of the Alliance Française of Melbourne in 1890. With the Great Depression, the sisters had to sell Oberwyl and moved to Adelaide. They returned to France during WWI to nurse wounded soldiers. And returned to Adelaide in 1916 after Marie contracted an infection. She was the South Australia representative of the "Société d’assistance maternelle et infantile". After the end of the war a number of French villages were ‘adopted’ by cities in Australia. Dernancourt, a small village in the Somme was adopted by Adelaide, and Mme Mouchette and Mme Lion worked to raise funds to help in the rebuilding of the almost completely destroyed town.The picture shows the link with the French community. Ethel and her sister Frederica Godfrey could speak French and were well acquainted with the members of this community: Charlotte Crivelli for example. Frederica was secretary of the Alliance Française of Melbourne in the early 1900, in 1917 she also became Honorary Secretary of the French Red Cross, funded by Charlotte Crivelli.Portait of two ladies standing in the middle with 3 soldiers from the French Navy, a wounded digger and a young man.French sailors at zoo / Madame Leon (Lion is the correct spelling) & Miss Godfreylion, marie (1855–1922), mouchette, berthe (1846–1928) nee lion, alliance française of melbourne, société d’assistance maternelle et infantile, france, french, zoo, french red cross, crivelli, charlotte (1863–1956), anzac, french navy, oberwyl, ethel augusta godfrey 1861-1935, frederica godfrey

An address delivered by Legatee Brian Armstrong (according to handwritten note on Envelope L.6) at the graveside of Sir John Monash in Brighton Cemetery on 24th October 1937, six years after Monash' death. In it he mentions how he, Armstrong, was one of "the great Company of junior officers and men who carried his orders into effect." and quotes from the message sent by Monash to all the men of the Australian Army Corps before a battle on 8 August 1918 when "for the first time on the western front we fought as an Australian army, with the green grass beneath our feet and a retreating enemy in sight." Legatee John Henry Brian Armstrong was President of Melbourne Legacy in 1937, and rose from Private to Lieutenant in the AAMC 22nd Btn. He was wounded at Dernancourt 25.4.1918 and Herleville, becoming a P.O.W. 18.8.1918. He was discharged as medically unfit 2.8.1919 and became a solicitor, serving as a Legatee for 54 years. Although Melbourne Legacy is not referred to specifically, it is clear that Monash' service to his country lives on in the work of Legatees in caring for others.Typed and hand written quarto paper, black on white, bound with green cord.Numerous annotations in black pen, and pencil.john monash, speech, obituary

Born in Castlemaine 1886. Maldwyn L. Williams (Leslie) was a prominent doctor in Bendigo, both at Bendigo Base Hospital and in private practice. He played several games in the Victorian Football League (VFL) whilst at university. Enlisted in Citizens Military Force in 1909 as Captain in Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. Promoted to Major in 1913. Sept 1915 - appointed Major in regular army, 8th Field Ambulance Unit. Nov 1915 - sailed for Egypt; June 1916 - sailed for Marseilles. Jan 1917 - promoted to Lt. Colonel and command of 1st Field Ambulance Unit. Wounded near Bapaume 2nd March 1917; died from wounds 3rd March 1917. Buried at Dernancourt Cemetery, France. The engraver of the plaque was C.G. Roeszler & Son of Melbourne. This business was founded in 1869 and is still family-owned and trading today. This company is responsible for many examples of engraving around Melbourne, including work on the 1928 Ringwood Memorial Clock and in St Paul's Cathedral in Flinders St, Melbourne. Rectangular metal plaque, possibly brass. 4cm border featuring botanical motif. A flower with eight round petals at each corner - each flower has a 0.7cm hole at its centre. Decoration and inscription engraved and filled with black material, possibly shellac or enamel paint which is degraded, cracking, and loose.Main inscription: "TO THE MEMORY OF/OUR FRIEND/MALDWYN LESLIE WILLIAMS. LT. COL, M.B,B.S./WHO DIED OF WOUNDS RECEIVED IN FRANCE/MARCH 3RD ['RD" is in smaller font and higher that other letters with a dot beneath] 1917.' Bottom right: "C.G. ROESZLER & SON MELB".plaque, memorial

This volume narrates the part played by the Australian Corps in the barring of the German advance upon Amiens in 1918. It also endeavours to explain the change of outlook which enhanced the spirit and performance of Australian soldiers throughout the last year of the war. The main subject necessarily involves a more than incidental reference to the performance of the British Army in the greatest battle ever waged.During the main German offensive 1918Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 - Volume V - The AIF in France 1918 Hardcover cardboard, Illustrations, Maps, Chronologymessines, ludenorff strike, australian corp, amiens, dernancourt, battle of lys, villers bretonneux, hangard wood, somme, st. quentin, fonquebillers, lancashire fusiliers, 53rd battalion, 35th battalion, sir henry wilson, arras, battle of hazebrouck, kemmel ridge

John Alexander Spence was born in Fremantle 2nd July 1893. In 1912 he joined the Australian Navy as a Stoker and was posted to H.M.A.S. Australia. He was on this ship when it sailed at the head of the convoy into Sydney Harbour in 1913. At the outbreak of WW1, his ship was sent to German New Guinea where he saw conflict with the enemy and received a gunshot wound to his hand. This required him to be returned to Australia and the Naval doctors considered him unfit for further Naval service. When his hand healed Spence joined the AIF on the 2 August 1915 and was posted to the 52nd Battalion and embarked on the “Benalla” on the 1 November 1915. He was promoted to Lance Corporal on the 1 June 1916 on 9 September was promoted to Corporal and the next day to Sergeant. At Messines Ridge he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. At Dernancourt, a village near Villers he was awarded the Military Medal on 6 April 1918. Subsequently he was badly injured. He had captured four German soldiers and one Officer. While marching them back to the Allied lines the Officer grabbed one of the patrol member’s gun and fired three shots at Sergeant Spence which smashed his hip. Despite his injuries Spence managed to bring the Officer down with a revolver shot. On the 30th April he was repatriated to England and admitted to the Alexandria Hospital at Cosham. He did not return to the western front as his injuries were too severe. He returned to Australia on board the Somalia arriving home on the 21st December 1919. Before joining the forces he was a prominent amateur boxer, a pupil of the renowned heavyweight Bill Doherty. During WW1 he won the Army lightweight championship, competing against professionals as well as amateurs. He defended the title successfully for three successive years. On his discharge from the Army he fought under the name of Sonny Kidson. He also turned to coaching and had remarkable success having coached the Army and Navy boxing teams. John Spence died on the 20 November 1962 at Hollywood Repatriation Hospital aged 69. Post card sized photo of 3400 Sergeant John Alexander Spence DCM, MM, 52 Battalion AIF. Photo shows medal ribbons of Distinguished Conduct Medal (awarded June 1917) and Military Medal (awarded April 1918), 2 wound stripes, 5 service stripes, 52 Battalion AIF colour patch and soft style forage cap.spence, 52 battalion, aif, dcm, mm

Bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.245.non-fictionRetrace Australia's role in the First World War from the trenches of Somme Mud to the wider war on the Western Front. Imagine this. You are a country boy and just eighteen. The war has been raging for two years and because of your age, you have not been eligible for enlistment. Your mates, older by a few months are joining up and disappearing to the great adventure across the world in Europe. And there is forever talk of the need for reinforcements, for men like you to join up and support the Empire, Australia and your mates in the line. Such was the case for Edward Francis Lynch, a typical country boy from Perthville, near Bathurst. When war was declared in early August 1914, he was just sixteen and still at school, but like a generation of young males in Australia, there was something to prove and a need to be there. Will Davies, editor of the bestselling Somme Mud, meticulously tracked Lynch and his battalion's travels; their long route marches to flea ridden billets, into the frontline at such places as Messines, Dernancourt, Stormy Trench and Villers Bretonneux, to rest areas behind the lines and finally, on the great push to the final victory after August 1918. In words and pictures Davies fills in the gaps in Private Lynch's story and through the movements of the other battalions of the AIF provides impact and context to their plight and achievements. Looking at these battlefields today, the pilgrims who visit and those who attend to the land we come to understand how the spirit of Australia developed and of our enduring role in world politics.world war 1914-1918 - personal narratives - australia, western front 1914-1918 - australian participation