Girrawheen resident organising service for 100th anniversary of deaths of three World War I soldiers

GIRRAWHEEN resident Maureen Roberts is organising a service to mark the 100th anniversary of the deaths of three World War I soldiers.

Ms Roberts’ great-uncle Thomas Richard Barlow was a soldier in the Perth-raised 44th Australian Infantry Battalion that fought on the Western Front.

He and Francis (Frank) Luke McGrath were killed at Ploegsteert in Belgium on June 4, 1917 by German forces while guarding the battalion’s water supply and another member, Tom Joyce, died three days earlier.

Barlow and Joyce are buried at Strand Military Cemetery in Ploegsteert and McGrath is memorialised at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, France.

Ms Roberts is seeking family members of the three men to attend a commemorative service on June 4 at Kings Park.

Call 9342 4281 or email maureen.roberts@bigpond.com.au.