THE spirit of Aboriginal soldier Private William King has been symbolically welcomed home to the Hunter, more than 100 years after he was killed in action in Belgium.
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Hunter historians Yvonne Fletcher and John Gillam have compiled a list of 2015 soldiers whose war medals were not issued for various reasons, including around 602 who were deemed untraceable.
Soldiers' relatives or eligible institutions, such as schools, can apply for the unissued medals.
Thornton Public School applied for Maitland-born Private King's British War Medal and Victory Medal and held a ceremony last Friday to mark becoming guardian of the medals, plus unveiled three plaques in its Peace Garden.
Principal Stuart Wylie said Private King "left Australia to never return to his ancestral land, Wonnarua country". Private King was 21 and married when he enlisted in Armidale.
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He served in Belgium with the 56th Battalion and was known as the Battalion Mascot. He was killed on October 12, 1917.
"His connection to the land, his people and his culture was separated by land and sea and he would never see his family again," Mr Wylie said.
"Our students have engaged in [Ms Fletcher and Mr Gillam's] Find Them Remember Them program to in some way provide a ceremony worthy of his ultimate sacrifice and to symbolically welcome him home, a fallen hero, to his traditional land, Wonnarua.
"We do this through his service medals, which were never presented to him or his family.
"As custodians of his medals our school now has the responsibility of taking care of and protecting them until such time as we can repatriate them with a family member.
"We will display his medals as a reminder of Private William King's service to our country and will honour his memory during Anzac Day and Remembrance Day to ensure his sacrifice is not forgotten."
The ceremony included Wonnarua elder Uncle Richard Edwards providing the Welcome to Country, a performance by Francis Greenway High's Aboriginal dancers, a catafalque party and a speech by Captain Garth Buteux, who said 1300 Indigenous men enlisted in World War I including 952 who served overseas.
The school's 6A class - led by teacher Jessica Allan - signed up to the Find Them Remember Them program. It involves students researching using records and primary sources; creating projects about; and commemorating the life of a soldier connected to their school or area.
Ms Fletcher said the program was not a "treasure hunt for medals", but if a school found its soldier wasn't issued medals - most would have been - could apply for the keepsakes with the aim of returning them to the soldier's family.
Thornton was part of the pilot program, which saw Defence Honours and Awards pre-approving the issuing of 16 soldiers' medals to schools.
Ms Allan said the process combined project and inquiry based learning and helped students become more independent and self-directed learners.
Fern Bay Public School became guardians on Friday of the medals of Private Theodore Chambers.
- This story originally appeared on the Newcastle Herald
Helen Gregory
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
