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CUBBO JOHN Private 3121A, 5th Light Horse Regiment Born Kilkivan, Queensland Enlisted Re- 1st June 1918 Occupation at enlistment Station Hand Remark Embarked Sydney “Port Darwin” 14th September 1918Listed in DVD Cherbourg Returned to Australia “Madras” 5th August 1919 Discharged Source: www.southburnett.qld.gov.au/directory-record/565/cubbo-john 20th August 1919

Australian War Stories ALL SIGNED UP William Thomas EXTON signed-up to join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at the Brisbane QLD recruitment office. William duly completed the AIF enlistment form – called the ‘Attestation Paper’. He confirmed his age, occupation, and marital status and noted that his home was in New South Wales. William advised that his next of kin was ‘(Wife) Exton Eva’. On the second page of the Attestation Paper he made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, William Thomas EXTON … swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War … SO HELP ME, GOD.” William was assigned the AIF service number 3162 which would appear on his active service and medical records. Source: memories.net/timeline/williamthomas-exton-49793

Australian War Stories FIT FOR ACTIVE SERVICE Like all new recruits William underwent a thorough medical examination. He was found to be free of a wide range of conditions that would “unfit him for the duties of a soldier”. Nor did he bear the tattooed letters D or BC, with which the British Army marked deserters and those of “bad character”. The Examining Medical Officer stated that William: “can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service”. Source: memories.net/timeline/williamthomas-exton-49793

Australian War Stories TRAINING BEGINS William was issued with his uniform: a khaki woollen jacket, heavy cord breeches and the famous slouch hat – turned up on the left and featuring a plain khaki band, chinstrap and “rising sun” badge. A soldier’s equipment also included a dixie (mess tin), water bottle, mug, .303 Lee-Enfield rifle and bayonet. Source: memories.net/timeline/williamthomas-exton-49793

Indigenous Australian, Driver Walter COOCHY (aka Couchey), 7th, 23rd & 9th Field Artillery Brigades. Walter COOCHY was born in Gayndah, Qld. in 1893 and was working as a Horse Breaker when he enlisted 10 November 1915. Initially allotted to the Light Horse Regiment, on arrival in Egypt, he was transferred to the Artillery. These units sailed for England in May 1916 and trained at the Australian Army Training Depot, Parkhouse before embarking for France. Walter Couchy was first assigned to the 9th Field Artillery Brigade, then the 23rd, and finally in January 1917, the 7th. He was mustered to be a driver and served in the Western Front until being returned home at the end of the war, May 1919. His brother Edmund Coochy was not accepted to serve when he enlisted in July 1917 on the grounds of ‘no white parentage’. + Their surname is variously spelled – Coochy, Coochey, Couchy Source: ttps://centenary184.rssing.com/chan-39477427/all_p12.html