03 May 2024
Today MRHS joined all of the other primary and high schools in the area to honour Griffith’s fallen veterans. The ceremony took place at the Griffith City Cemetery between 10 and 11am. Crosses were set up at the graves of veterans for students to find and lay flowers at.
Crosses had been placed at the graves of ANZACs earlier in the week for the students to find and lay flowers upon. The members of the Student Representative Council then scoured the grounds for soldiers to honour. This morning was the fourteenth time students laid flowers on the graves of ANZACs in Griffith.
The event was put together by organiser Margaret Tucker. Margaret, who works with the Griffith Genealogical & Historical Society, brought the project to Griffith after writing the obituaries of several local ANZACs.
“The first one that got me started was a man who lived in a hut in the railway yards behind the RSL rooms.” Margaret explains, “I cried when I wrote his obituary. He used to walk up and down Banna Avenue with a lantern bailing up people and telling them harrowing stories about his time in the Merchant Navy during World War 2. One night he knocked his lantern over and burned to death in his home.”
After discussing what could be done to honour these veterans with a colleague, she was made aware of a tradition of students laying flowers at the marked graves of veterans in Ardlethan. She brought the ceremony to Griffith in 2010, and it’s been running strong ever since.
Margaret tells of several soldiers who returned from war and struggled to fit back into society. Post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism often meant that some soldiers died prematurely, with no family to keep their memories alive. “In the process of doing all of this, I’ve found 60 unmarked graves of servicemen and I’ve found some very sad obituaries for some of them.” Margaret explains.
“A real tragedy is the story of Charles Beilby,” continues Margaret, “He arranged for returned veterans to buy farms from the government. He wasn’t married and had no children, but his obituary says he had the biggest funeral in Griffith at the time. His picture hangs on a wall in the RSL rooms, and Council has named a park after him, but because he has no family, his wooden cross rotted away, and he now lies in an unmarked grave.”
Ceremonies like the one today are an important way for MRHS students to understand how history is made from big stories, small stories, international events and local events. It’s also an opportunity for students to reflect on the sacrifices made by our forefathers to create the quality of life that we enjoy today.
