Brothers by blood, brothers in arms

AN Anzac Day service at the Arch of Victory will again share the names and human stories of many fallen Ballarat servicepeople.

Arch of Victory-Avenue of Honour committee president Garry Snowden said the 8am gathering on Monday, 25 April will be focused not only on brothers in arms, but brothers by blood.

“There are 47 pairs of brothers commemorated in the Avenue of Honour who lost their lives in World War One,” he said.

“The Paulig brothers, Albert and Henry who attended the Humffray Street State School, and the Janssen boys, Carl and Ernek from the Cambrian Hill State School, were the first of Ballarat’s brothers to be killed at Gallipoli, while Robert and Lawrence Tait from Barkly Street both died in the final three weeks of the war.

“At our commemorative services we always like to remember some of our fallen servicemen and women by name, so this year, in the shadow of the Arch built in their honour, we will call the names of all of these brothers. This will take a few minutes, but it is the least we can do to honour their sacrifice.”

Macarthur Street State School and Grenville College students Charles and Percy Coltman will be acknowledged and may be familiar to attendees, as they are the pair Lucas’ Coltman Plaza shopping centre is named after.

Charles served in the Boer War and at Gallipoli where he earnt a Military Cross, before dying of pneumonia in Egypt. Percy fought at Gallipoli, and in Pozieres, where he was killed.

The other 43 pairs of fallen local brothers which will be recognised include Harry and Frederick Bastow, William and Leslie Daw, Joseph and Percy Grose, Macklam and Norman Kerby, John and James Lumsden, Clement and Austin McCallum, Cornelius and Ernest Rowley, Philip and James Zahnleiter, and many more.

If you have a family connection to any of the brothers commemorated along the Avenue of Honour, the committee encourages you to attend the service and place a floral tribute. Register via [email protected].