Lieutenant’s Lone Pine death one of many reported in Preston Leader’s Gallant Australians column

ONE of many who had the unfortunate honour of lending his name to the Preston Leader Gallant Australians column was Albert Valentine Dwyer.

Lieutenant lost at Lone Pine

Throughout World War I the Preston Leader would run a weekly Gallant Australians column, notifying the city of residents who would not return home.

Of the roughly 400,000 Australians who left the country to serve in the war, more than 60,000 would not come home.

One resident who had the unfortunate honour of lending his name to the Gallant Australians column was Preston’s Albert Valentine Dwyer (picture courtesy Australian War Memorial).

Lieutenant Dwyer sailed for the war aboard the HMAT Euripides on May 10, 1915, but before the year was over his name appeared in the Preston Leader.

The December 11, 1915, edition gave the first notice of Lt Dwyer’s December 3 death, a result of wounds from the battle of Lone Pine.

“On Tuesday evening the Rev. Mr Eva, of All Saints’, Preston, had the melancholy duty of informing Mrs. Dwyer, of Bartlett street, that her husband, Lieut. A.V. Dwyer, had died of wounds at Gallipoli,” the Leader read.

“This young officer sailed in April last as quarter-master of the 23rd Battalion, which, after finishing its training in Egypt, went into the fighting lines about the end of August.

“He leaves a widow and two young daughters, aged 14 and 11, with whom every sympathy will be felt.”

Details of Lt Dwyer’s death was included in the next two editions of the Preston Leader, with more details of his service.

In March 1916, Mrs Dwyer received her late husband’s long service medal, sent to her by a commanding officer of the 55th infantry regiment, who included a touching note.

“Whilst regretting that your husband was unable to have the pleasure of wearing this medal, you will always have the memory that his long and faithful service was crowned by a man’s noblest end — death for his country,” the note read.

The Preston Leader would continue to publish the names of its residents throughout the rest of the war, with far too many names appearing under the heading Gallant Australians.

War weary soldiers were keen to get news from home via their local Leader newspapers. Picture courtesy Australian War Memorial.

LETTERS played a big role in the lives of the Anzacs and their families at home during World War I.

The Preston Leader provided readers with news from the front lines and carried messages from the soldiers.

A letter from one Preston resident, Sergeant S. Abbey, a 21-year-old carpenter from Henry St, gave great insight into both his feelings and those of his fellow Anzacs serving in Egypt.

An extract from the letter from the front lines sent to the Preston Leader in September, 1915

The letter read as follows in the September 4, 1915 edition of the Preston Leader:

CHEERS GIVEN FOR PRESTON BOYS IN EGYPT.

ALL ARE WANTED.

THE “LEADER” APPRECIATED.

Sergeant S. Abbey (Preston) of the 13th Light Horse Regiment writes:

Heliopolis, Egypt, 1st Aug, 1915.

It was with great regret that we read of our comrades who have already fallen and been wounded.

We have a Preston “Leader” sent to us now and again, and we can’t help but write and tell you how it cheers us up over here. It seems to bring us nearer home.

We all gave three hearty cheers this morning when we read of the young chaps who were enlisting. They are all wanted.

If some of them could only drop into some of the hospitals and see some of our wounded comrades I am sure it wouldn’t take them long to come and have revenge.

I can tell you that we can hardly wait to get to the front. I have just had the misfortune to break my hand. I was kicked by one of our horses, so I can’t write as I would like to.

If any of your subscribers could find time to send us a few lines we would be only too pleased to send them views of Cairo or Heliopolis.

Hope to hear of more Preston lads coming this way. Wake up Preston, and fight for your King and Country.

In the same edition was another item:

A few days ago a local lady wrote to a Northcote boy who is in camp at Ballarat asking him if he would like “The Winner,” a sporting paper forwarded to him regularly. The young man wrote expressing his full appreciation of the lady’s kindness, but suggested that the Northcote “Leader” would be much more welcome, not only to himself, but about a dozen other Northcote boys in his company.

■ To access past copies of the Preston Leader or Northcote Leader visit the State Library of Victoria’s digitised collection of WWI newspapers.