Commonwealth War Grave commemoration to celebrate life and service of Brunswick serviceman William Arthur

A late Brunswick Junction war veteran will be honoured for his military service later this month at a special service.

Trooper William Arthur of the 10th Light Horse Regiment will be recognised in a commemoration at Old Harvey Cemetery on October 21 after his unmarked grave site was upgraded to a Commonwealth War Grave in July.

The service is being organised by the 10th Light Horse Harvey Troop’s Brian Bevans.

He said the story of Mr Arthur was discovered after an investigation by researcher Chris Horvath into the regiment.

“One day, he rang me up and said ‘have you got this right on your record?’,” Mr Bevans said.

“He was not on any of the honour roles anywhere so we didn’t have him listed and we didn’t know who he was.”

After additional research, a whole sweep of information was uncovered about the previously unknown trooper.

Enlisting in Perth in October 1915 as a 44-year-old, he joined the 13th reinforcement of the 10th Light Horse Regiment, heading to Egypt in January 1916.

He served in several other units during World War I, before being discharged after he returned to Australia in October 1919.

It is believed he then worked as a civil servant for several years and moved to Brunswick Junction after he received three properties as part of the soldier settlement scheme.

Mr Arthur lived in a small dwelling near the Brunswick River on Wellesley Road, taking his daily bath near a bridge on the road.

He got involved with the Brunswick RSL during that time and was made a life member on May 3, 1940.

Mr Arthur died in Perth in 1942 but was buried in an unmarked grave at Old Harvey Cemetery.

In recognition of his connection to the area, the Australind & Districts Historical Society had the Brunswick River crossing on Wellesley Road renamed Bill Arthur’s Bridge in 2015 and listed on the Heritage Council Places Database.

The commemoration later this month is set to be the third held at the Old Harvey Cemetery within the last 12 months, with Harvey History Online member Wendy Dickinson noting Mr Bevans’ commitment to honouring the region’s late military veterans.

“Each time he has identified a grave, he’s endeavoured to do a bit more research for each person buried so that we’ve got a bit of a history to go with the grave and the commemoration,” she said.

“It’s actually really good to be able to have a story to go with the graves in the cemetery, and it brings those stories back to life so they’re not just forgotten.”

The service starts at 10am.