Charlotte Lambert, 18, from the North State High School in Mackay, began investigating the wartime service of Sergeant Arnold Lambert Worboys from Bolwarra when she discovered her surname matched his middle name.

She then found he had been killed at Villers-Bretonneux in 1917 on March 23 – the same day she celebrates her birthday.

And this week Charlotte accomplished her mission when, together with children from several schools, she visited Gallipoli and battle sites in France and Belgium.

The tour took her to a field of vegetables on a flat plain – the spot where Sergeant Worboys is believed to have been killed.

And there Charlotte planted a single poppy to honour the man she never knew, but who came to play such a big part in her life. 

“It was an amazing experience, to find the place where we believe Sgt Worboys died during the fighting,” she said.

“It was a beautiful sunny day, not a bit like the weather our soldiers would have experienced.

“I placed a poppy on the spot to honour him, in what is now a field of vegetables that had been ploughed up.

“We all payed tribute to 17 Australian soldiers killed in the area, then held a service for all our soldiers.

“It was a really special occasion and I was able to share the experience with our school group.

“I was able to honour a man I never knew, yet who had come to play such a big part in my life.”

Charlotte said the scale of the war had shocked her.

“There were just so many cemeteries everywhere we went in Belgium and France,” she said. “We cannot undo the war nor give the soldiers back the lives they lost, but we can remember them and the sacrifices they made.

“I will always remember the soldiers – I have them to thank for the life I have.”