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Wall of poppies honours the fallen

11 Nov, 2009 08:19 AM
Greg Murrells never met his great-uncle Frank, but has heard his name mentioned at family gatherings his whole life.

Private Frank Murrells enlisted in the Australian Army when he was just 18, and fought in Europe during World War I.

He was wounded in Pozieres, France, in 1916, and died of his injuries in a British hospital. He was just 19.

Greg Murrells, of Port Macquarie, went to the Australian War Memorial yesterday, ahead of Remembrance Day, to place a poppy next to his great-uncle's name on the Roll of Honour.

Jack Patten, of Brisbane, also made the trip to Canberra this week, to pay tribute to his father's cousin, Private John William Sams.

Private Sams was killed in action in Pozieres, on July 23, 1916, also at the age of 19. He died alongside another relative, Private Leonard Irvine Hines, 20, on the same day.

Mr Patten said this was the second time he had travelled to Canberra to visit the War Memorial, and it would probably be his last.

He was one of many visitors who each year push poppies beside names on the wall as a personal tribute to the more than 102,000 men and women commemorated there.

The site of the poppy-adorned Roll of Honour is a familiar site to many visitors, especially Canberrans, but it was not always this way.

The tradition originates from a spontaneous gesture made by people waiting to pay their respects at the interment of the Unknown Australian Soldier on November 11, 1993.

After the main service, people were invited to visit the Hall of Memory and lay a single poppy on the tomb.

While waiting, they queued in the cloisters beside the Roll of Honour, and at the end of the day, Memorial staff noticed that hundreds of poppies had been pushed into the cracks between the panels.

The poppies were left there and the tradition has continued, with poppies remaining untouched once placed by visitors.

And the roll itself is still being added to. Today, in a private ceremony, five new names will be added, those of Australian soldiers who were killed in combat in the past 12 months.

Private Benjamin Ranaudo, Sergeant Brett Till, Corporal Mathew Hopkins, Private Gregory Sher and Lieutenant Michael Fussell all died in Afghanistan since November last year, and will be honoured at the memorial this morning.

Until five years ago, names were not added to the Roll of Honour until the Department of Defence had determined that a conflict had ended.

But since World War II, Australians have been involved in various conflicts that have sometimes continued over many years.

The War Memorial's council resolved in 2004 that the names of those who had died in recent conflicts would be added to the roll once a year on Remembrance Day.

A public ceremony to mark national Remembrance Day will be held today at 10.15am at the Parade Ground at the War Memorial, to commemorate Australians who have fought and died in war and armed conflicts.

It will include a minute's silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, to remember the moment when the guns on the Western Front fell silent in 1918 after four years of war.

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I think it's a lovely idea putting poppies beside the service mens names on the Rememberance Wall. I had to get a helper to do it for my relative as it was too high up for me to reach. He used a ladder.
Posted by Ceeb, 11/11/2009 1:20:35 PM
This is a must do every time i visit Canberra. Roughly every 3-4 months i make it to Canberra and every time without fail i will pay a visit and place a Poppy against the name of my Great Grand dad, a MC winner. This makes me proud.
Posted by craig, 11/11/2009 6:48:30 PM

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Greg Murrells at the Australian War Memorial yesterday, placing a poppy next to his great-uncle's name on the Roll of Hounour. Photo: KARLEEN WILLIAMS
Greg Murrells at the Australian War Memorial yesterday, placing a poppy next to his great-uncle's name on the Roll of Hounour. Photo: KARLEEN WILLIAMS

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