Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles William Hazzard was born on the Orara River in the Clarence Valley in NSW in 1880. He was the father of my maternal grandmother Florence known as Maud and by all accounts lived on a farm and was a great horse man and also a father to his 8 children. When Great grandfather enlisted in the army he was almost 35. He enlisted in May 1916 in the Imperial Forces and was shot and killed by on the 26th March 1917. He is buried in France in Nieppe, Departement du Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
I can remember his war picture, the same black and white photo I see here. His eyes look burdened and as a child my Nanna wasn't able to tell me much because he had died when she was only 12. I do know that her life became incredibly hard especially for his wife Mary and all her children due to the fact there was no war pension. I think my Nanna felt that the war had taken from her far more than it had ever given her. I know until the day she died that she despised the senselessness of war and the dreadful suffering it inflicted.
I'm grateful that my Great Grandfather lived long enough to give me my Nanna who was without a doubt one of the greatest loves of my life. Nanna Maud lived a peaceful and loving life, she was a committed Catholic, always generous, beautifully kind, sweet natured, thoughtful and dearly loved by all those who knew her and particularly by her children, June, Ann and Mick but all of her grandkids, Richard. Elizabeth, Catherine, Stuart and my uncle Mick's daughter Michelle adored her beyond measure.
As an old lady she was given an award by the Australian Government that she always had in her bedroom alongside her little altar. It was her connection to a dad she never knew.
For whatever reason my grandfather made a decision to leave the serenity and safety of northern NSW to fight in the battlefields of France I believe he did show he was committed and prepared to offer his life for what he believed in. Great grandfather obviously believed strongly in fighting for his country and the freedom from tyranny he believed was undermining it. I feel for him because he was manipulated and shaped by the war propaganda of the time and like many men he made the ultimate sacrifice.
I thank Great Grandfather for his contribution and I hope one day to visit his grave in France to honour memory and the contribution he made to my life.