Mt Evelyn find: World War I German POW sketches donated to RSL, while army takes bomb
More than 100 years after World War I, a widow in the Yarra Ranges has called in the experts after discovering a potentially volatile piece of history. It wasn’t the only rarity in the collection.
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An explosive time capsule dating back more than 100 years has been uncovered in Mt Evelyn, which has revealed a fragment of life in war-torn Europe.
A century-old World War I bomb fired by a mortar and rare sketches drawn by a German POW were some of the memorabilia which belonged to Glenis Ellis’ husband Russell who died last year.
For 64 years the bomb had been sitting under layers of dust in the couple’s Mt Evelyn garage until Mrs Ellis’ son alerted his mother to the fact the bomb would need to be removed by an expert.
Mrs Ellis said the bomb had belonged to her father-in-law Robert Ellis, who had gone to war at just 19.
“We must have bought it up from South Melbourne when we moved here and didn’t worry about it because it had been transported all the way from overseas,” she said.
A call to Mt Evelyn police initiated the removal and the army were around last week to take the bomb away.
But the bomb wasn’t the only interesting piece Mr Ellis had in his collection.
The Ellis family has donated three unique sketches — one by Robert of a church ruin in Proyart, a village in the Somme Valley in France, which gave its name to an operation mounted between 10 and 12 August 1918 as part of the Battle of Amiens.
The other two were of Robert and Herbert Edwards drawn by German POW Wilhelm Gaugel from the 25th Dragoon Regiment.
Mt Evelyn RSL sub-branch secretary and war historian Anthony McAleer said the items were fascinating and quite rare.
“The drawing of the shelled-out church in Proyart gives you some insight into the destruction that took place in the village that was the scene of some heavy fighting in 1918,” Mr McAleer said.
“I’ve never seen anything like this and it is quite amazing that the family was able to preserve them.”
Mt Evelyn RSL sub-branch president Roger Boness said the club was proud to have these items in its collection.
Mr Boness said the sketches would be framed and properly conserved for all visitors to enjoy.
Mrs Ellis contacted police to help her get rid of century-old bomb that had been stored in a garage for more than 60 years.
The army was called out to take the bomb away on Wednesday.
Mooroolbark police Senior Sergeant Paul van Gemert said police had previously been contacted about other quirky items police had been asked to help remove.
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“Someone found a sword under their house in Mt Evelyn and it turned out to be an infantry officer’s sword,” Sen-Sgt van Gemert said.
He said the weapon had been privately owned and dated back to 1893.
“We donated it to the Lilydale RSL and it is worth $10,000,” he said.