Notes
His name is not on the Historic Obelisk in Melbourne General Cemetery. John attested that he was Roman Catholic. He was the son of John Thomas LYONS and Elizabeth Hannah née RAMSEY (Widow - former married name DREW) who married 1st December 1897 in Tatura with the officiating minister Andrew Chambers being Presbyterian Minister of Tatura. John’s maternal grandparents were Richard RAMSEY, butcher, and Ellen née FITZGERALD. There are two forms of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). a) On one under “religious emblem” the word “cross” has been struck though and “Jewish” hand written above it. b) On the other under “religious emblem” the handwritten word “Jewish” has been struck though and “cross” typed above it. At the bottom of one of the forms (which has 15 names listed), the words “Special layout for stone No 139 (Jewish)” has been struck through. Clearly there was confusion at CWGC about which religious emblem to use and the wrong emblem was chosen. There was no minyan or notices in Jewish publications in Victoria. There is no evidence that he was Jewish. The CWGC was notified of the mistake. Their reply, “Dear Judy, Thank you for your email. This case has been discussed with the Office of Australian War Graves. They have confirmed that Lyons headstone should be marked with a Cross and we have now ordered a replacement marker. Yours sincerely, Roy Hemington, CWGC Records Data Manager”. Rabbi’s decision: Ruled to not be Jewish. Therefore not to be on the list for future memorials.
John Monash (Monasch) born
in Melbourne, Australia on 27 June 1865, the son of
German Polish Jewish migrants, can be researched in any
military history encyclopaedia or in fact by just
‘Googling’ his name on the internet. His history
and list of achievements are long and far too many to detail
in this brief summary. However, might I say that reading his
history is well worth the effort and I can assure you that
his deeds will amaze you. I have found that the deeds are
better labelled on more than one man and in more than one
lifetime.
An
announcement was made in the weeks leading up to the
Centenary of ANZAC by Judy Landau, President VAJEX Aust.
She stated that it gave her great delight to announce
that VAJEX Aust (Victorian Association of Jewish Ex
& Servicemen & Women Australia Inc) has
successfully raised the required funds to build a new
Victorian Jewish Memorial after the style of the
historic Memorial located in the Jewish section of the
Melbourne General Cemetery. After an extensive two year
process, Judy has single-handedly sought letters of
support, raised the funds, and obtained approval from
the City of Port Phillip.
