Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Camperdown RSL is proudly honouring Pomborneit Second World War soldier Jack Easterbrook, who died as a Prisoner of War in the Pacific. Branch president Alan Fleming received original memorabilia from Private Easterbrook’s family last week, in time to display for Remembrance Day.
by Billy Higgins November 10, 2021 Colac Herald
A local Second World War soldier’s service is finally earning its due recognition, 80 years since he farewelled his family and left Australian shores for the last time.

Camperdown RSL is commemorating Pomborneit’s Jack Easterbrook after a family donation shone new light on his life and death in service to his country.

A chance phone call from Pte Easterbrook’s family last week revealed new details of his service, highlighting the vital role local RSL branches play in preserving the nation’s war history.

Merle Hedges, nee Easterbrook, was three years old when she said goodbye to her dad on his way to fight in the Pacific.

She now lives in Melbourne, aged 83, and passed on the memorabilia to Camperdown RSL last week to reconnect the district’s community to one of its serving heroes.

Her donation included a framed photo of Pte Easterbrook, a silver platter from a Pomborneit and district veteran support group, and a framed certificate from the former Shire of Heytesbury.



The local branch also has a hand-written letter from Pte Easterbrook’s 29th Infantry Battalion Lieutenant Harry Archdall, which was addressed to his wife Ethel on Lt Archdall’s return to Australia in 1945.

The letter said Pte Easterbrook died of cholera in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp, and that an Australian Army chaplain had cremated his body at a farewell service.

Camperdown’s branch sent copies of the letter to Pte Easterbrook’s descendants now in Brisbane, for them to read the first-hand account of his service for the first time.

“All of this was news to the next generation of the family, they’d never seen that letter,” Camperdown RSL president Alan Fleming said.
“We got it last Wednesday, then on Thursday we had a phone call from Brisbane about trying to find the First World War honour board from Timboon that was burnt in the fire in the ‘60s.”

“I was saying we don’t have any of that, but we often get new memorabilia in. I started telling her about what we’d got in without even giving her a name, and she said: ‘That sounds like Uncle Jack’.

“We’ve only had it for three days, and all of a sudden the news has gone interstate from a chance phone call.”

Mr Fleming said the Camperdown branch had added another medal to its collection in recent weeks that appeared at a local second-hand shop.

A local man tracked down the medal recipient and his family in England. When the family declined to accept the award, it returned to the Camperdown RSL for safekeeping.

Mr Fleming said the recent incidents emphasised the important role of local RSL branches as custodians of Australia’s war history and emphasising its importance for the Australian community.

“We’re a place where families can, if they wish, relieve their memorabilia for the benefit of everyone else,” he said.

“In this case no one in the family would have even seen that letter, and no one will have seen the rest of that stuff since 1946, unless you visited the house.

“Now you’ve got two or three generations of local people, who if they’re interested in their history, can come and share in that.”