BRUCE Charles Curtis Archer was a tall, thin young man with dark hair.
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He was a baker by trade working in Murrurundi when he joined the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion, enlisting at Kensington Racecourse in Sydney on August 29, 1914.
Still a teenager, he found himself in Gallipoli with fellow ANZACs unprepared for what was to come.
On August 6, 1915 Private Archer was involved in the charge on Lone Pine.
Private Chandler told military authorities later that Private Archer was running alongside him during the charge and before reaching the first Turkish trench Private Archer was hit and started to fall.
Private Archer was not seen alive again.
At about 8am the following morning, on August 7, 1915, another soldier in the platoon, Private Bell, reportedly saw Private Archer lying dead on the field with a bullet in his chest.
Bruce Archer was 19 when he was pronounced Killed In Action at the Battle of Lone Pine.
Conflicting cables suggested Private Archer was buried at Brown’s Dip and given a religious service.
A cable from London at the end of the war, dated January 13, 1919, simply said ‘no burial.’
Murrurundi baker Bruce Archer is remembered at the Lone Pine Memorial at Canakkale Province on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The next projection of Bruce Charles Curtis Archer's name onto the exterior of the Australian War Memorial’s Hall of Memory in Canberra will be on or about Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 11:48pm.
Private John Lawrence Costello enlisted in the 30th Australian Infantry Battalion on October 9, 1915.
He was born in Ardglen and, at the time he joined up, was teaching at a school in Murrurundi.
He was in his late 30s when he volunteered to fight for his country, embarking from Sydney onboard the HMAT Orsova on March 11, 1916.
Private Costello’s brother and nephew had already distinguished themselves. His brother, Private Val Norman Roy Costello, was a member of the 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment and had been mentioned in despatches for “conspicuous gallantry” as a stretcher bearer for dressing the wounds of injured and bringing them in under fire whilst being wounded himself.
Private Costello’s nephew, Corporal Donald James Fraser, was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery with the 9th Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery.
Sadly, John Costello’s chance to follow in their footsteps was cut horribly short.
The 30th Battalion's first major battle was at Fromelles on July 19, 1916.
Initially it carried supplies and ammunition, but was soon drawn into the vicious fighting.
At 4pm on the afternoon of September 4, 1916 at Fleurbaix in northern France about 90km from Calais, Private John Costello was decapitated by the “premature burst” of an Australian shell next to him in the dug-out.
Several other Australians were also killed in the accident.
Private Costello, 39, was buried 1.5km away next to the wall of a convent behind enemy lines.
His final resting place is now France’s Rue-David Military Cemetery at Fleurbaix in Bethune, Nord Pas de Calais.
The next projection of John Lawrence Costello's name onto the exterior of the Australian War Memorial’s Hall of Memory in Canberra will be on or about Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 7:43pm.
- Disclaimer: Fairfax Media has researched this ANZAC story to the best of our abilities using the records of the Australian War Memorial, the National Archives of Australia, the State Library of South Australia, the State Library of Victoria and State Records NSW, with the support of Muswellbrook Shire Local Family History Society, Upper Hunter Historical Society and local war records researcher, Denise Bell. However, it is possible there could be minor anomalies due to gaps in information or people's recollections over time.