Paterson's untold stories in new war book

Yet after he was killed on April 26, 1915, the day after the Gallipoli landing, his family remained in the dark about his fate. 

His great niece Kathy Lyall said the family waited 18 months before his death was confirmed and tragically his mother died before she received the news.

“[Private Keppie’s] mother died not knowing whether her son was alive or dead,  imagine that,” she said. 

Ms Lyall said nearby soldiers had seen a bullet penetrate his body, but nobody knew what had happened to him after that.

Not even the army could initially tell the family whether he was alive or dead, she said.

Private Keppie’s contribution to the war caught Chaplain Stephen Moore’s attention and he told the soldier’s story at Paterson’s Anzac Day dawn service in 2007.

Ms Lyall remembers being very impressed with the extent of his research.

Chaplain Moore went on to reveal the plight of a local serviceman or servicewoman each time he was asked to speak at the service.

Some of the people he researched included Private Sidney Kidd, who was born at Tocal and died at Gallipoli in August 1915, and three Feneley siblings - Cecil, Paul and Dorothy. 

Cecil was killed in action on the Western Front.

Ms Lyall felt the stories had to be preserved so when the opportunity presented itself, she told Chaplain Moore his research should be turned into a book. He agreed.

Ms Lyall, a Paterson Historical Society member, has added additional documents and photographs to the accounts and the end result is a book titled Dawn Service.

“I was very impressed with what [Chaplain Moore] did and I thought the stories were too good not to be put in a book,” she said. 

The society has donated a copy of the book to schools in the area so they can also learn about some of the people from their area who served in a war.

The books are $20 each and are available from McDonalds Bookshop in Maitland and the Paterson Post Office.