Notes
His name is on the Historic Obelisk in Melbourne General Cemetery and he has a page in our Book of Remembrance, however there was no casualty found. According to our Book of Remembrance page, he was a Bombardier, S/N 12213 and in the Australian Field Artillery, AIF. The page was not dedicated by a family member nor by our association. Many others within and outside VAJEX Australia have not located a casualty. Found was: N82710 PTE Robert Nathan served in a Depot Unit in NSW, barcode 7994291. He was “Hebrew” and was discharged at his wife’s request. Services no longer required, 25 September 1917. This soldier did not die in war nor did he have an association with Victoria. Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists CAPT Robert Percy Nathan MC as a 1918 death from Royal Field Artillery, UK - a cross marks his headstone. Searching the service number “12213” produced the following result: Walter NAPHTALI, Regimental number 12213, Religion: Jewish, Occupation: Traveller, Address: 330 Lygon Street, Carlton, Victoria, Marital status: Married, Age at embarkation: 30, Next of kin: Wife, Mrs Naphtali, 330 Lygon Street, Carlton, Enlistment date: 27 September 1915, Rank on enlistment: Gunner, Unit name: Field Artillery Brigade 6, Reinforcement 3, AWM Embarkation Roll number 13/34/2, Embarkation details: Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on 28 January 1916, Rank from Nominal Roll: Sergeant, Unit from Nominal Roll: 5th Field Artillery Brigade, Fate: Returned to Australia 5 April 1918. This is also not our man as this soldier did not die in war. Rabbi’s and researcher’s decision: Ruled that he did not exist and no casualty was found. 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.