Lt Colonel H E 'Pompey' Elliott is seated in the centre of the Headquarters detail of the 7th Infantry Battalion, AIF.  This Battalion was being raised within days of the declaration of the war, and took many young volunteers from the local 58th Battalion of the Citizens Military Force, known as the Essendon Rifles.  Elliott was Commanding Officer of the Essendon Rifles when war was declared.

Essendon and Flemington Volunteers, 1914-1918

Click above to enter the database

Database created by Lenore Frost

The call of the British Empire in 1914 reached far away Essendon on the other side of the globe. Within weeks of this call the first Australian Imperial Force volunteers were ready to leave for Europe, though in the event they were diverted to a little known Peninsula in Turkey we now call Gallipoli.

These early volunteers preceded a large number who came from the suburbs of Essendon Moonee Ponds and Ascot Vale, as well as neighbouring Flemington, Newmarket and Kensington. The life of these suburbs was so intertwined that when names were placed on a Roll of Honour in the Essendon Town Hall, it included residents of Flemington and Kensington. Likewise, the Roll of Honour published weekly in the Essendon Gazette included the names of men from surrounding suburbs, as far abroad as Keilor, Broadmeadows, and Craigieburn.

The Honour Rolls, however, overlooked many who served the Empire, and in particular failed to recognise the sacrifices of their family and friends who remained behind to wait anxiously for news, who suffered grievous losses, and who worked tirelessly to provide comforts for soldiers, clothing for refugees, and aid for sick and wounded soldiers and sailors.

A database I have been compiling for some years now includes the names of over 4,500 service volunteers. The impact of the service, not only the deaths or maiming, of these volunteers has been felt by the community for decades.

As the centenary of the landings at Gallipoli in April 1915 approaches, it is appropriate for us to remember the young men and women who made sacrifices for their Empire, country and community, and also remember the suffering and sacrifices of those who remained behind.

To this end I have created a database of the volunteers.

Where letters and postcards are available, we would appreciate a scan of those items to be included in the final as a record of our community's service in the Great War. 

Items of interest are any contemporary ephemera or memorabilia associated with local people included in our database - photographs, letters, postcards, medals, badges, programs, tickets, ribbons, memorabilia, and so on. We are particularly interested in photographs taken in the local area during the period of WW1 which might show patriotic activities, or military activities, up to 1922.

The criteria for inclusion in this project is an association with the suburbs of Essendon, Ascot Vale, Moonee Ponds, Newmarket, Kensington and Flemington prior to enlistment. This association is determined by the following.

• Next of Kin living in these areas at the time of embarkation
• Name included on an honour board in a local church, school, town hall, club
• Items about them in the local paper

All the names in the database included in this database have been found on embarkation rolls or local honour boards or in the local paper.  Being born in the area, or moving to the area after the war, is not a sufficient criteria. 

By the way, if I haven't yet put up an individual page for a volunteer listed in the database, please send me a request. Otherwise you might be waiting a long time for me to get to Z.

See also my Blog The Empire Called and I Answered

Go to the lists of volunteers