24 forgotten Diggers from Bankstown finally remembered

THE names of 24 “forgotten” men who died in World War I have finally been added to a Bankstown memorial.

Jason Clare told Parliament that the omission was discovered when he organised for a book to be written about the men on that memorial. Picture: Alix Sweeney

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THE names of 24 local men who died in World War I have finally been added to a Bankstown memorial.

The men, who went to war more than 100 years ago and were “forgotten”, have now been recognised nationally after their names were read out in Federal Parliament by Blaxland Labor MP Jason Clare last week.

“There’s a memorial in Bankstown with the names of the local men who went off to war and fought and died in World War I. These 24 names are not on it,” Mr Clare said.

The MP said the omission was discovered when he organised for a book to be written about the men on that memorial.

The restored WWI memorial at Memorial Oval, in honour of the 31 young men from Bankstown at Chapel Rd South.

“We don’t know why their names weren’t there. Or why they were forgotten,” he said.

On November 11, Mr Clare said, it would be 100 years since World War I ended.

“As part of that commemoration the names of these 24 men — these 24 Bankstown boys have finally been added to that memorial,” he said.

“Every Anzac Day and every Remembrance Day we make a promise — we promise that we will remember them.

“But we haven’t done that. Not these men. Not for the last 100 years. They were forgotten. But that’s not the case anymore.

“This Remembrance Day in Bankstown, at long last, we will make good on that old and solemn promise — that we will remember them. Lest we forget.”