Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Roy Monks was the beloved only son of Laura Amy Wraith of Bright. Roy's father had deserted the family in 1905 and Laura supported herself and her son by working at her mother's drapery store in Bright. The year 1917 was a turbulent time in Australia, the losses in France were horrendous with 76,000 Australians killed or wounded by years end. The government desperately short of reinforcements was campaigning for conscription but this was bitterly opposed by the Catholic Church. The second referendum in December 1917 was lost with only Western Australia and Tasmania supporting conscription. Laura would have been getting increasingly worried as she knew that Roy would enlist in 1918. For some time now Roy had been living and working in Melton, probably at his uncle Henry Crawford Wraith’s store, by this time he was supporting his mother financially.

With his mother’s consent Roy enlisted in the A.I.F in May of 1918. He had already had three years of experience with the army cadets. He was soon assigned to the recruit depot at Broadmeadows. Luckily for Roy the allied forces in France were on the cusp of a major offensive, one that would force the Germans to negotiate for peace. Roy was assigned to the 10th Victorian General Reinforcements and duly embarked for Europe onboard HMAT Barambah on the 31st of August 1918. Roy’s unit was to reinforce the 6th Battalion, but by September the battalion was moved to the rear and would not take part in any more fighting. During the journey Roy was admitted to the ship’s hospital with influenza. Disembarking in London four days after the armistice the troops were sent to France in February 1919 and after almost six months Roy was finally on his way back home in August of 1919.

After the war life slowly settled back to normal, Laura continued living at the family home in Wills Street, Bright. Roy returned to working as a grocer, but by 1924 he was a railway employee and living in Geelong West. This change of career may have been at the urging of his uncle Jim Wraith who had worked for the railways for many years and had been a locomotive foreman at Geelong. In 1933 Roy married Vera Pearl Chapman and a daughter Valerie Jean Monks was born later that same year. Roy and Vera retired to Bendigo where they lived for many years.