"We had a very small population in 1914 and most of the teachers who went from WA were all from Claremont Teachers College," the Cottesloe RSL president said.
The stories of the 997 people whose names are on the suburbs' World War I honour boards, including three women who served in the army, navy, nursing and flying corps in the four-year conflict, are in Mr Green's book Not Just a Name. 1914-1918 Service men and women, which was launched at Cottesloe council recently.
The names were gathered from boards in churches, councils, schools, businesses and forgotten dusty hiding places in research sponsored by Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove and Mosman Park councils in the past 15 months.
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READ NOWAt the Anzac Cove landings, three Cottesloe Surf Life Saving members were killed, including recent Maltese migrant Charles Bonavia, whose battlefield possessions included his lifesaving bronze medallion.
The youngest to enlist from the three suburbs was Peppermint Grove schoolboy Ernest Waterhouse, aged 15 years 11 months, who wrote to his mother while serving with 11th Battalion at Villeret, northern France, on September 18, 1918.
"Life is worth nothing now, so if I go under, you know I have done my duty. Do not grieve as we will meet in the new world. Love to all," he wrote.
Ernest returned, married, had five children and became the Shire of Goomalling's first president.
About 47 per cent of those who enlisted locally were either killed or physically injured.
"The sadness of it includes teacher Hugh Cannal, an AIF sapper who became a Royal Flying Corps pilot and was shot down and killed in what is now Iraq on October 31, 1918 " 11 days before the end of the war," Mr Green said.