Six late veterans of World War I commemorated with service at Old Harvey Cemetery following gravesite upgrades

Six late veterans have been recognised for their service to their country in World War 1, in a ceremony held last weekend. A commemoration was held at the Old Harvey Cemetery on April 15 to honour the service of Horace Jasper Barnecut, George Arthur Snudden, Herbert Butler, Lawrence Roy Brookdale Herman Charman, Henry Gridley and Flora Maud Larsen. The service was attended by members of the Harvey RSL, relatives of Mr Charman, elected representatives and community members. The 10th Light Horse Regiment’s honourary colonel Retired Brigadier Phil White gave the keynote address at the ceremony. He said the commemoration was an acknowledgement and celebration of the six veterans’ survival of World War I. “Their service and sacrifice I believe were not in vain,” Mr White said. “Whilst it is both pleasing and important that we gather in communal commemoration . . . it is also important that we acknowledge their collective and individual contributions to the birth of the Anzac Spirit that grew out of the horrendous experience that began in Gallipoli on the 25th of April, 1915. “(They) in their own way played a part in developing the Anzac legend our nation so strongly reveres.” All but one of the veterans had been buried in unmarked grave sites at the Old Harvey Cemetery for the past 50 to 80 years, with no recognition of their contributions to Australia’s first major war effort. An application was made to have their graves upgraded to Commonwealth War Grave status, which was approved by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs late last year and has now taken place. Mr Charman’s gravesite had a plaque added to recognise his military service. An individual commemoration was held at every gravesite by Reverend Allan Ward, with each of their stories being told before a prayer and a reciting of the Ode by Harvey RSL vice-president Les Liddington. Mr Barnecut joined the 16th Batallion on the battlefields of France in January 1917, before being captured in Riencourt three months later and spending 20 months as a German prisoner of war. He moved to Harvey where his brother Bertie lived following the war and died in 1971. Mr Snudden joined the 24th Field Artillery Brigade in France in 1916, before being wounded in action and evacuated to the UK after receiving a shell wound to his back. He lived a reclusive life after returning to Harvey, living in a humpy and only leaving home to buy provisions once a fortnight. Mr Snudden died in August 1963, with his body not being discovered until days later. Mr Butler joined the 10th Light Horse Regiment at Moascar, Egypt in September 1917 and served for nine months before suffering an attack of sandfly fever and being admitted to hospital. He later rejoined his unit before being re-admitted with malaria in September 1918. Mr Butler returned to his job as a farmer at Mornington Mills following the war and died in North Perth in 1961. Mr Charman served in Gallipoli and was awarded a medal “for conspicuous gallantry” on the battlefield. Motor cycling was his passion and he competed in tournaments in the UK before running a motor cycling business in Perth and later working as a mechanic. He died in Augusta in 1969. Mr Gridley was originally part of the 16th Battalion, before eventually ending up in the 4th Division Machine Gun Company. He was admitted to hospital in October 1916 for shell shock and was later discharged as being medically unfit. Mr Gridley worked for the Public Works Department followed the war and was caretaker of the Harvey Hall following his retirement. He died in 1942. Ms Larsen started work as a nurse in Egypt from December 1917 to July 1919 and started a private hospital on King Street following the war. She died in Claremont in 1964. Master of ceremonies Paul Gillett thanked those who made the service possible, including the local sub-branch, the 10th Light Horse Troopers, the Westralian Great War Living History Association and the Busselton Brass Band. They are the latest to receive the honour, with the late Lt Allan Bennison Black’s unmarked grave site upgraded to a Commonwealth War Grave last year.