During World War One, the body of only one Australian killed in combat was returned home to be interred, with all others buried near where they fell in Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries across the battlefields of Gallipoli and the Western Front.

Due to the more than 60,000 Australians killed during this War, the repatriation of all of their bodies back to Australia was logistically impossible, and the Imperial War Graves Commission, whose role it is to commemorate the military service personnel of the Commonwealth nations from the two World Wars, mandated that soldiers were to be buried in cemeteries close to where they fell, and that all would be commemorated equally, regardless of rank or religion.

There are more than 1,000 Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries on the Western Front in France and Belgium, 31 on the Gallipoli Peninsula, amongst others, across the battlefields where Commonwealth units fought in both World Wars.


Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Passendale, Belgium, the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the world.


To be buried in one of these cemeteries, one must have died while serving in a Commonwealth military force during the designated years of the war, which, in the case of World War One, were between 4 August 1914 and 31 August 1921. This not only includes those killed in combat but also other causes such as training accidents and disease.

Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges KCB, CMG is the only Australian soldier to have had his body repatriated during World War I, and he was buried in the grounds of Duntroon Military College in Canberra. In 1993, the remains of an Unknown Soldier were recovered from a cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux in France and interred in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Although these are the only two Australian soldiers who fell in combat during World War I to be buried on Australian soil, there are others who made it home after serving overseas but died directly as a result of their war service before the cut-off date at the end of August 1921 and are buried at home, while others died of disease or accident after enlisting but before being posted overseas.

Several Wimmera cemeteries feature graves recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, some of which feature the distinct style of grave marker seen in the cemeteries on the Western Front, while others were provided by the families and blend in with the usual mix of monuments

The Jurro cemetery near Jung, a haunting picture of which appears in The Wimmera book released in 2021, which was the inspiration for this article, is the home of a single such grave dating from 1919.

Local man John Reuben Albert enlisted in July 1915 with his father’s permission, as he was only 20 at the time.

After initial training in Melbourne, he departed Australia in October of that year, bound for Egypt, where his training continued. Then, in late February 1916, his 11th Battalion departed for France to join the war on the Western Front.

A period of acclimatisation and training followed before the battalion saw its first action on the Cordonnerie salient in late May and then fought at Pozières and Mouquet Farm during the following months.

Between November 1916 and January 1917, he spent time in England recovering from trench foot.

Upon being passed fit to return to action, he transferred to the 65th Battalion but did not see any action with them before they were disbanded later in the year, with their members dispersed as reinforcements for other units. He was appointed to the 6th Battalion in October.

By March 1918, the battalion saw significant action during the German spring offensive and the subsequent Hundred Days Offensive counterattack.

On 10 August, he suffered a gunshot wound to his right forearm during fighting east of Villers-Bretonneux in France, which saw him again return to England for treatment.

He was passed medically fit at the start of his voyage back to Australia, but he began to show signs of pulmonary tuberculosis during the trip.

His condition gradually worsened, and upon arrival back in Australia in early May 1919, he was admitted to the Macleod Sanatorium in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, a facility specifically for the treatment of returned World War One soldiers suffering from tuberculosis.

When his condition did not improve, he was transferred to the Austin Hospital, and by the end of July, he was classed as permanently disabled as a result of his military service.

John passed away on 18 August 1919, having not left the hospital, with consumption from gas poisoning noted as the cause.

He was buried in the family’s local cemetery at Jerro, north of Jung, the following day.

As he had not yet been discharged from the A.I.F. and passed away before 30 August 1921, he qualified to have a headstone provided by the Imperial War Graves Commission.

The stone is of the style and size seen in Commonwealth cemeteries on the Western, but instead of the iconic white Portland stone, it is made of dark grey stone.

It features the standard inscription of the A.I.F. insignia, the soldier’s regimental number, name, the last battalion in which he served, and a cross.


The grave stone of John Reuben Albert in the Jerro Cemetery.

The Dimboola cemetery also includes one grave recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: that of Arthur Ernest Barber. However, as he was buried in the same plot as his sister, his grave marker is of a more generic design typical of a country cemetery.

Arthur was a farmer from Wail and was 23 years old when he enlisted on 13 July 1915 and began his training at the military camp in Ascot Vale, Melbourne.

He was considered fit for active service as part of his enlistment process, but while in camp, he contracted Cerebrospinal Meningitis and was admitted to the Alfred Hospital, where he passed away on 2 September. His body was sent to Dimboola, and he was buried here the next day.

Despite not engaging the enemy or even serving overseas, his grave is still recognised by the CWGC, and his family was issued a Memorial Plaque.

Other cemeteries around the Wimmera that have such World War I graves include Beulah, Bleak House near Nhill, Goroke, Hopetoun, and Warracknabeal.