Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Over the past six years we have submitted the service records and causes of death of several hundred veterans to the Office of Australian War Graves for assessment for Official Commemoration. To date, more than 100 of these veterans interred at Lutwyche Cemetery have been accepted as Official Commemorations, and their graves are now being formally marked and will be maintained in perpetuity by the Office of Australian War Graves.

Lance Corporal Alfred Norman Dowson (Service No. 4612), an Australian World War One veteran, is one of the previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery that has been accepted as Official Commemorations by the Office of Australian War Graves.
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Alfred Norman Dowson was born in 1880 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, to William Dowson and Frances Dowson (née Glover). He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Adelaide, South Australia, on 4 September 1915, giving his occupation as clerk and nominating his mother in Yorkshire as his next of kin. On 7 February 1916 he embarked for overseas service from Adelaide with the 10th Battalion aboard HMAT Miltiades.

In November 1916 he travelled from England via Folkestone to France, joining the 1st Australian Division Base Depot at Étaples on 20 November before being taken on strength of the 10th Battalion on the Western Front. In June 1917 he was admitted to hospital suffering from trench feet and was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield in England. His condition was severe enough for him to be repatriated to Australia for recovery. He left England in July 1917 and arrived in Australia in September. He was discharged from the AIF on 12 December 1917.

In 1923 he married Alice Ethel Farrar in Victoria. By 1927 they were living in Heidelberg, Melbourne, where he worked as a farmer. The following year the couple moved to Clayton, Melbourne, where he worked as a shopkeeper. By 1931 they were living in Seaford, Melbourne, where his occupation was recorded as manager.

Lance Corporal Alfred Norman Dowson died at Park View Hospital, Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, on 20 July 1935, aged 55, from pneumonia and cardiac failure. He was buried two days later in Monumental Portion COE2, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. His death certificate states that he married twice, the first marriage taking place in America, with no children recorded from that union.

In 2024, 89 years after his death, we received notification that the Office of Australian War Graves had accepted our application for an Official War Graves Commemoration. After decades in an unmarked grave, his final resting place now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice.

His identity and dignity have now been restored.
Lest We Forget 

A note from the Australian Remembrance Army regarding the remarking of previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves:

Many Australians are unaware that, unless specific eligibility criteria are met, returned service personnel are not automatically entitled to an official government-issued headstone or plaque at their place of interment. As a result, tens of thousands of Australian veterans lie in unmarked graves across the country.

War graves, and their protection, are important because they teach future generations about the consequences of conflict.

Eligibility for official commemoration in Australia must satisfy one of the criteria outlined by:

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) – Criteria and qualifying service dates:

https://www.cwgc.org/.../what-are-commonwealth-war-graves/

• Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) / Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) – Additional war grave eligibility criteria:

https://www.dva.gov.au/.../commemo.../official-commemoration