To conclude the dedication
to the Woodside Brothers in Arms, one of the relatives of the three Eglinton brothers
who died in WW1, has written a final tribute. Thank you, Michael Lucas, for
this heartfelt piece from his family’s perspective and for filling in some of the
gaps of the public official records.
THE EGLINTON BROTHERS
Five enlisted only two returned
How quickly we forget. Although
the Ode does implore us, those who remain to remember, our family has
forgotten. My wife is a direct descendant of an Eglinton. A search through our family archives, which is unfortunately very
sparse, has not revealed any evidence of the story of the Eglinton Brothers.
The five Eglinton Brothers were
the nephews of our Eglinton ancestor, James, and the Grandson’s of William.
James and William were the first publicans of Terowie in the Mid North of SA.
At the time it was a bustling railway town, where the trains were changed to
suit the NSW gauge, en- route to Broken Hill. William died in 1891, and James
took on the licence. He then served as publican for several of the prominent
hotels in Adelaide including the Maid and Magpie, Magill Road, the Arab Steed
Hutt Street and the Semaphore Hotel. Unfortunately, there is little mention of
the farm in Terowrie or the family in Forest Range.
An interesting side note is that
William married Elizabeth Forrest, whose brother, Alexander, was my direct
ancestor. Thus my wife and I have a common ancestor six generations in the
past.
Yes, there were five brothers who
enlisted to serve in World War One. The other two, John Charles and Wilfred
Rowe returned to Australia. Wilfred Rowe was severely injured during grenade
practice and was medically discharge in Dec. 1917. After the death of the
second brother, Clarence Roy, the eldest brother, John Charles applied to
Ministry for a compassionate discharge. He wrote to his younger brother, Thomas
William, to support the appeal. Thomas wrote in support, but the appeal was
declined. Tragically, Thomas was killed shortly after writing the letter. Upon
learning of the death of his brother, John Charles re-applied. This time the
Ministry agreed and he was discharged on 8 November 1918. Ten days before the
end of the war.
Back to the reflection. Reading
the accounts of the three brothers, I am moved to tears. Having read and
reflected on the letters written by mothers, granting permission for their sons
to serve, only to receive the tragic news of the death of the same son six
months later. Then to read these letters appealing to the Ministry to allow one
of the five Eglinton brothers to return to work on their farm, was heart
wrenching.
This does make you wonder what
might have been, but that would be futile. This same story is probably repeated
during all of the conflicts that Australians have served. And now we have a
memorial for all of the brothers that served as a point of focus for our
reflections
The hotels and farms have been
disposed of, and the family has dispersed throughout Australia. And then to
return to the initial thesis. They will not grow old and we shall remember.
Even if the story has been lost to the family, the names appear on memorials in
South Australia and on the Western Front. As long as one person reads the name
and stops to reflect on what has been, they will be remembered, their memory
will not die.
MICHAEL LUCAS, Relative of the
Eglinton brothers.
