Our photo this week is of local Herbert Eric Churches who is seated in the middle. It shows a hockey team outside a timber Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) hut in England before he went to the Western Front in France.

One will notice the YMCA fire buckets that were full of sand in case of a fire and hung strategically near entrances to their buildings.

The diggers would have been playing a social game of hockey during a spell in training. The YMCA organisation built, or took over, large wooden huts to offer sober rest and recreational facilities to the troops during World War One, both in England and in larger towns nearer to the front lines in all theatres of war.

Generally, they found locations where significant numbers of troops passed, preferably near railway stations. They provided cups of tea, chocolate or Bonox, with sandwiches, cakes and biscuits and other refreshments. There were small libraries, playing cards, board games, letter writing material, and soap along with other personal items available.

Private Churches was born on  August 14, 1895, at Raglan and was working as a farm labourer near Peel. He enlisted on August 28, 1916, just four days after his birthday. Herbert was single, aged 21 and given 747A as his regimental number.

When he embarked on the troopship ‘Benalla’ on November 9, 1916, he was a corporal and one of the reinforcements for the ANZAC Cyclist Battalion bound for England, arriving 9th January, 1917. Herbert joined the 17th Battalion the following month. He was wounded in May 1918 and admitted to the 5th Australian Field Ambulance for eight days before he was discharged back to his battalion.

Herbert’s brother George Keith Churches served overseas in the 3rd Signal Troop with the Australian Light Horse in Egypt.

Mateship is an Australian cultural expression that embodies parity, loyalty and friendship, which was soon noticed by the British military officers during World War One. Herbert Churches met two men whilst training and they became firm mates throughout the war and all came home.

One man was ‘Bill’ William Joseph Day, who was also despatched as reinforcements for the 17th Infantry Battalion. Bill had been an Engineer living in Stanmore in Sydney, and like Herbert he was single and 23 years old.

His other mate was Lance Corporal William Arthur (Bill) Knight and he too had a studio photo taken with Herbert before going overseas. Herbert and Bill, along with Bill Day were proud of their new uniforms and like most volunteers were keen to have a photograph taken of themselves in their new uniforms.

These soldier’s portraits are now treasured reminders of the Australian volunteers of World War One, of whom numbers gave their lives or returned with wounds and memories that bothered them for the rest of their lives.

Bill Knight had been a cabinet maker living at Lakemba when World War One was declared, he was single, and aged 18 on embarkation as his mother allowed him to join early. Bill was a Lance Corporal at embarkation and would join the 17th Battalion on the Western Front.

Herbert returned to Australia on the troopship ‘Miltades’ on June 19, 1919, arriving here on August 8 and discharged on September 15, 1919, and took a steam train home to his parent’s property ‘Wyagdon’ at Peel.

Herbert’s name later appeared on the Honour Roll for the Peel District. Finally, all three came home with Bill Knight returning to Australia on September 15, 1918, ten months after the signing of the Armistice.