As we commemorate Anzac Day – I’m sharing some local stories to recognise and remember those who sacrificed so much, so we can enjoy what we have today.
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Private Charles Prince, from Dubbo, was 29 at the outbreak of hostilities and enlisted in World War I on December 15, 1914.
He subsequently served in Egypt, Turkey, France and Belgium — but would never get that longed-for trip back home.
In almost three years abroad, Private Prince had endured freezing winters and several bouts of illness.
Little wonder then that an uncensored letter home to his father dated August 28, 1917, carried an air of thinly veiled despair.
“The winter is the hard problem to face here,” he wrote.
“I spent the last one on the Somme, and it did me for a tough one. I wouldn’t mind a trip home.
“I have had a long run now, and I think I have done my ‘cut.’ You know I am the only one you have left now, and, of course, at this game a fellow is always apt to go west.”
He was killed in action in Belgium on September 21, 1917. His body was never recovered.
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Commemorating those who served, and remembering those who died … Lest we forget.