The ceremony, which the club hopes to make an annual event, marks the start of a big year of activities by the Magpies to commemorate the formation of the 34^th Battalion (Maitland’s Own) in January 1916.

It will culminate in a tour by the Magpies under-17, departing in November, for a series of matches in England and France where the 34th Battalion trained and fought on the Western Front.

It will end in Villers-Bretonneux, the site of the major Australian memorial in France, on December 7 when the Maitland boys will play games against a German side. 

Magpies under-17 coach Ian Mather said Sunday’s commemorative matches against  Charlestown City Blues were dedicated to all Defence Force personnel who have served our country with distinction since 1915.

Mather has urged all football fans, descendants of 34^th Battalion members and the public in general to attend the unique commemoration.

All serving members of the Defence Force and returned servicemen and women who attend the matches, wearing service medals, will be admitted free.

There will also be a free breakfast for them from 8.30am to 9.30am. The under 17s will kick off from 9.15am, followed by under-19 and -22 fixtures before the official Anzac ceremony from 2.15pm.

Mather said the under-17 tour’s mantra was “a journey of a lifetime to remember the sacrifices of a lifetime ago”.

Like many current members of the Magpies, Mather has a direct link with the 34^th Battalion and subsequent Australian, British and Commonwealth military forces.

Several forebears of today’s Magpies payed the ultimate price including Private Robert Atkinson and Private 1Roy Edward Tranter in World War I and Private Cyril George Tranter in World War II.

“My great-great uncle Robert Atkinson was killed in action on October 12, 1917 at Passchendaele in Belgium,” he said.

Although the 34th Battalion was formed after the Anzac campaign in 1915 it took part in some of the bloodiest battles on the Western Front, with 481 soldiers killed and 1727 wounded from 1916-18 in battles at Messines, Ypres, Polgyon Wood, Passchendaele, Somme, Villers-Bretonneux and the Hindenburg Line.  

Mather said a greater majority of the enlisting soldiers in the 34th Battalion came from Maitland and surrounding areas (Kurri, Weston, Abermain, Neath etc) and was  hence known colloquially as Maitland’s Own. 

He said a large number of the men were miners from the area and some later joined the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company as depicted in the movie Beneath Hill 60. 

“Despite the rigours of training in preparation for battle on the Western Front the men of the 34th Battalion also played football,” he said.

“It is this intrinsic link, the football and local men, that Maitland FC are seeking to honour in playing games in England and France.

The 34th Battalion was formed in January 1916 at a camp established at Maitland Showground.  

It left from Farley train station, on May 1, 1916,  bound for Sydney, where it embarked for England on May 2.

“Football was played on a regular basis and recorded in the war diaries of the 34th Battalion,” Mather said.

Games were played in England (Larkhill) – July/October 1916 and several games in France from November 1916 to 1918.