Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Here is a link to johns dedication on 20th April 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSo3RLNagII

Is í an eorna nua tú a fheiceáil,
agus
Is fearr clú ná conach.
These are two Irish proverbs that I felt were applicable to today and Johns life.
The first translates as, ‘’seeing you is as good as seeing the new barley’’, this effectively means how great it is to see someone. It’s quite old and it represents the joy when the new barley arrived for harvest. Barley was a welcome relief to the diet of potatoes and also that potin could now be distilled. It’s a now a great Joy to visit and see John.
The second one is that ‘REPUTATION IS BEST ‘ effectively to mean ‘a good name is better than riches’. John did not have any riches but now his good name will live on forever and be remembered. The AIF 11th battalion and their endeavours are now legendary.
John led a tough life from his humble beginnings in Ireland in 1879, where he was the oldest of 9 siblings. He served in two wars and was in service for nearly one third of his life. I take comfort from the fact that the last two years of his life he was cared for here in Perth in the old Repatriations hospital.

Its been quite a journey to get here, emotionally and literally. To discover Johns story and within 6 months to be here for a dedication to his memory is quite surreal.
John has gone 70 years in an unmarked grave, his physical location forgotten, but not his name and service. John was 36 when the 11th Battalion set sail to Egypt. Previously John was a veteran of the Boer war where he was taken as a POW. I hope that John shared these experiences, with the many young Western Australians of the 11th Battalion, who were excited about the adventures that lay ahead. Even Just to ground them a little and prepare them for the horrible reality they were about to face.

Ireland has a very fractured history and feelings about WW1 and the soldiers who fought and died there. It has taken 100 years to erect a monument in my home town of those who fell during the war. Anzac Day goes unnoticed every year in Ireland, even though more Irish died in Gallipoli than New Zealanders. Some sad facts I have learned recently, on the day of the landings on the 25th of April, two Irish regiments, the Munster fusiliers and the Dublin fusiliers lost so many men that they had to be amalgamated and became known as the Dub-Sters.

I would never have been able to uncover Johns extraordinary life, without the history and pride, that all fabrics of Australian society have in their veterans. My investigation into John began with google, but it was the various branches within Australian government and support groups that allowed me to uncover it all.
Having lived in Australia 18 years ago, I knew that the RSL would be a good first point of call. This led me to contact the RSLWA. Immediately I got a reply from Ashayla Ramsay, who representing them has helped me at every step of the way and led us all here today. I can not thank her and the RSLWA enough. In fact, from reading Johns post war records, the various branches of the RSL were always there to assist him. Through the process I have had assistance from the Dept of Defence, NAA, OWGC, Medals Awards. All these government departments should be typically bureaucratic, but the human element of Johns story had them all wishing me well and helping me above and beyond. On top of this I need to thank all the generous donors who contributed to the GoFundMe Page for his grant.
I think Ireland has a lot to learn from Australia in this respect, and hopefully overtime we will get to the same point in remembering the fallen.
To complete Johns story, I am still searching for a photo of him. This will help me place him on the Cheops pyramid. I hope by contacting other descendants of the 11th Battalion that there just may be a photo out there somewhere.
Thank you all again so much.

Peter Dwyer - Grand Nephew of John Dwyer