Historical information

Kenneth Malcolm Mortimer was born in Leneva, Wodonga, Victoria on 9 October 1895. He attended school in Wangaratta before entering the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1913. Along with the rest of his class, he graduated in June 1915.
Mortimer was appointed as a Lieutenant with the 29th Battalion on 1 July 1915. He embarked with Headquarters Staff, 29th Battalion, from Melbourne aboard HMAT Ascanuis (A11) on 10 November 1915. Whilst training in Egypt in February 1916, he was promoted to Captain.
He was in command of a company of the 29th Battalion at Fromelles, Armentieres, France in July 1916. and was reported missing, presumed killed in action on 20 July 1916, aged 20 years.
Mortimer’s remains were buried along with those of hundreds of others in a mass grave near Pheasant Wood, close to the battlefield. This mass grave was rediscovered in 2008.
After extensive research and DNA testing, the remains of Captain Mortimer were finally identified in April 2018. He was buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Fromelles and his grave rededicated on July 19, 2018, 102 years after his death.
A memorial tablet was erected to his memory at St Luke’s Church in Wodonga.

Honour Certificates WW1 - From 1915 onwards, recruits in many shires and towns in eastern Australia were honoured by local government authorities. A common form of recognition was the award of honour certificates.

The first honour certificates were presented in 1915 and 1916 to men who had yet to leave Australia. The designers and publishing companies solicited business directly from councils. Publishers began to print two different types of certificates: honour certificates to thank soldiers who had survived and memorial certificates to commemorate the dead.

D.W. Paterson, a Melbourne publishing firm, claimed they had supplied certificates to over 150 cities and shires in Victoria and New South Wales, including the Shire of Wodonga. Paterson also had the widest range of designs

The certificate signified that the officials of the community recognised and shared the family's pride and grief. In the earliest designs, the legend "Australia's sons answered the call" appears below the shield. This was replaced with "For Liberty/ ANZACs/ For Justice". After the United States entered the war in April 1917, the design was reworked to include the US flag. Its presence in this certificate dates its publication as late 1917.

The certificate was signed by S. T Parker, Shire President and R. H. Murphy, Council Secretary on 4th August 1918.

Significance

Kenneth Malcolm Mortimer was born in Leneva, Wodonga and enlisted in the AIF after training at Duntroon. He fought and died at the Battle of Fromelles, France which was the first major engagement of the AIF on the Western Front. Along with hundreds of other Australian soldiers his remains were only identified in 2018, more than 100 years after the battle.

Physical description

Coloured certificate presented to the family of Captain K Mortimer by Wodonga Shire Council.