A‘DEAD man’s penny’ set neatly in his parents’ headstone gives some hint of Henry Grubb’s tragic death.
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The ‘Memorial Plaque’ medal was the next best thing for parents, Arthur and Marian, knowing their son was buried a world away in France.
The penny has a new sheen thanks to Keith and Marjorie Speer, who help maintain The Forest Cemetery off Middle Arm Rd where the Grubbs and several of ‘Goulburn’s sons’ are buried.
Over the past few months they’ve delved into the military history enshrined in the peaceful rural cemetery.
Henry Robert Grubb, who hailed from Greenwich Park, was the only soldier killed on August 31, 1916 during the allied offensive at The Somme on France’s battlefields. It’s a remarkable fact given the scale of human loss.
The farmer was 20 when he joined the AIF in July, 1915, equipped with experience in the Towrang Rifle Club and a good dose of national pride. He had joined on the same day as his cousin, Lindsay Murray from Collector, who was killed just one week before him.
By February, 1916 Robert was serving in the 56th battalion, having been transferred from the 20th battalion. He was appointed a Lance Corporal several months later. In June he sailed to Alexandria on the troop ship ‘Huntsend’ and then onto Marseilles.
Just two months later, on August 31, he was killed in France, along with many others in the 56th, and buried at Bois-Grenier.
In 1920 his father wrote to the Army hierarchy, asking for a photograph of his son’s headstone, according to military records.
“If it is not asking too much I would like this inscription put on: ‘Greater love hath no man than this that he laid down his life for his friends.”
The same year, Arthur asked that the Star of David also be inscribed on his son’s grave. He retracted this after the Army pointed out the Star was “an emblem of the Jewish faith” whereas the cross was a Christian symbol.
As Marjorie’s uncle, the Speers have taken a particular interest in Robert’s story. But Marjorie is also related to other servicemen buried at the cemetery.
“Our research started when all the controversy blew up about the cemetery’s ownership,” Mr Speer said.
“I knew (Goulburn RSL Sub Branch secretary) Rod MacLean from my time with the railway and he helped me with a lot of the research.”
The couple has been helping to maintain the cemetery since the early 1960s. Strolling around, they also note Bertie Watling’s grave. Though born at Marulan he was living in Goulburn when he joined up aged 23. He served with the 55th battalion as a surveyor and was wounded in action in 1918.
After discharge, he worked at the Middle Arm slate quarry and then for the Council. Mr Speer said his daughter is 92 and still lives in the Goulburn area. Other former soldiers buried at The Forest include:
* Reg Shiels – joined the army age 40 in 1940 as a nurse and was in Darwin when the city was bombed. He later transferred to Kenmore Army Hospital in Goulburn where he was a staff sergeant. Shiels stayed on as a psychiatric nurse after the war.
* David Ernest Gray – a Rat of Tobruk who served with the 9th Division from 1939 to 1946.
* Elwin Ray Watling (Bertie’s son) – served with the 9th Division in WWII from 1943 to 1946. He became a school teacher after the war.
* Doug Motbey – served in the army from 1948 to 1953. He became a pastry cook at Grunsell’s and then Bryant’s. Later he had his own bakery at Bigga.
* Oswald Albert Grubb – (Henry Robert’s brother) – served in the Citizens Military Force from 1942 to 1945 as a builder, mainly in Cairns.
“I think it’s important to remember these men on Anzac Day,” Mr Speer said.
“We’re trying to save the cemetery and we don’t want them to be forgotten.”