The sacrifice of a young soldier from Dubbo and his mates who were killed on the Western Front has been remembered 100 years on.
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Lance Corporal Leslie Henry Robinson’s life ended in the fierce Battle of Polygon Wood on September 26, 1917.
One of 5700 Australian casualties in the fighting, on Tuesday two countries paused to commemorate the loss.
Dignitaries from Australia and Princess Astrid of Belgium attended the dawn service in the land where the volunteer soldiers fell.
Ahead of the occasion, veterans’ affairs minister Dan Tehan urged compatriots to pause and reflect on the sacrifice made 100 years ago.
Australia suffered more than 5700 casualties in the battle, out of a total of 38,000 during eight weeks of fighting, known as the Flanders Offensive, between September and October 1917 on the Western Front.
Mr Tehan said the Flanders Offensive had resulted in massive casualties on both sides and contributed to a manpower crisis in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).
More Australians died in battle in 1917 and more were taken prisoner than in any other year.
- Veterans' affairs minister Dan Tehan
“Today we commemorate those involved in the Battle of Polygon Wood and we remember they were just some of the more than 300,000 Australian volunteers who served on the Western Front, where 45,000 lost their lives and more than one-third of those have no known grave,” Mr Tehan said.
“For Australian soldiers, the third year of the Great War was the worst they had ever experienced.
“More Australians died in battle in 1917 and more were taken prisoner than in any other year.
“There has never been a year when Australia lost more to war than 1917.
“One hundred years on, we honour the service and sacrifice of those Australians who fought and died far from home in our country’s name.”
Lance Corporal Robinson of Minore via Dubbo enlisted in the AIF on August 18, 1915.
The 21-year-old farmer who responded to the call-up embarked from Sydney on June 23 of the next year and served on the Western Front with the 54th Battalion.
He was killed by a shell that landed among a group of men from the battalion during the battle.
Parkes MP Mark Coulton encouraged community members not to forget the wartime sacrifices on the centenary of the battle.
“The number of casualties Australia sustained are hard to comprehend, and I urge everyone in the electorate of Parkes to pause and remember the sacrifice of those Australians and everyone who has served in defence of our country and values,” he said.
Mr Coulton also encouraged groups to apply for funding under the Armistice Centenary Grants Program.
In a letter contained in Lance Corporal Robinson’s Red Cross Wounded and Missing File, his brother told of hearing of “a Robinson killed”.
Cadet Robinson went to the place and saw the man who did the burying, who gave him some of the corporal’s belongings and “by them I am quite sure it was my brother”.
Parkes MP Mark Coulton encouraged community members not to forget the wartime sacrifices on the centenary of the battle.
“The number of casualties Australia sustained are hard to comprehend, and I urge everyone in the electorate of Parkes to pause and remember the sacrifice of those Australians and everyone who has served in defence of our country and values,” he said.
Mr Coulton also encouraged groups to apply for funding under the Armistice Centenary Grants Program.