Murwillumbah’s Returned Services League sub branch is searching for Tweed residents who have relatives involved in the Gallipoli landing, for a special centenary commemoration on ANZAC Day.
As part of this year’s events on 25 April, the sub branch will mark the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing by creating white crosses with the names of Tweed soldiers, sailors and nurses who served in the Gallipoli campaign, and placing the crosses around the Murwillumbah memorial.
Sub branch members, assisted by Murwillumbah High School students, have compiled an honour role of World War I veterans from the Tweed and have put out a call for community support to add to the list.
“We are asking residents of Murwillumbah and the wider Tweed Shire area to advise us of the details of anyone who was a relative of a veteran at Gallipoli,” sub branch President Derek Sims said.
“We are not restricting the names to only those who came from the Tweed, they only have to be connected to anyone currently residing in the Tweed.
“The display of crosses to mark this event is in keeping with a tradition we have in Murwillumbah on Remembrance Day.”
People who think they know of someone who served in the Gallipoli campaign, or anyone interested in finding out if they might, can visit the National Archives of Australia website www.naa.gov.au or the Australian Imperial Force website www.aif.adfa.edu.au.
Investigations by the RSL have included visits to the Tweed’s many war memorials, to collect the names of people who served in World War I.
“Our list of people who enlisted from the Tweed in 1914 to 1918 shows there were around 1500 people but I’d expect there would be more,” Mr Sims said.
Council is working closely with the sub branch to organise a number of centenary commemoration activities, including a special Fragments: Words of War exhibition at Tweed Regional Museum Murwillumbah.
Tweed Regional Museum staff and Murwillumbah RSL members will host a Bring Your Memorabilia open day at the Murwillumbah Museum, offering an opportunity to learn more about researching war records and caring for memorabilia.
