Photos: Supplied by John Bennetts

Thousands of memorials commemorating Australia’s war dead feature in towns and cities across the country. In whatever form they take, from those modest in size and design, to the most imposing of structures, each stands as a permanent reminder of those who served and those who sacrificed in various conflicts.

While all are poignant, there are those whose tangible links to the people they commemorate make them all the more special.

On the Victorian coastal island of French Island, located in Western Port, 60 kilometres south east of Melbourne, a unique memorial commemorates those residents of the island who served during wartime.

Access to French Island is only available via ferry or barge, making the local jetty a vital piece of infrastructure. Having been in place for many decades, when the decaying jetty had to be demolished and replaced, residents were permitted to purchase lots of the original timber instead of it being removed from the island.

When French Island resident and Vietnam veteran Keith Airs and his wife Lois purchased some of the jetty timber, Keith had an idea for how it could be repurposed.

For those who left the island for war, their last physical connection to the island was on that jetty. Fortunately, most returned home, landing back on the jetty at the war’s end. However, not all who left for the war returned. Two of the 31 who served in World War I, F. W. Bond and R Maddaford, were killed in action. Of the 16 who served in World War II, three never returned home – A Campbell, B Livingstone, and T Matthews.

“So the link [between] the different generations was the jetty timber they all had walked on.”

In what was a true community effort, Keith and Lois donated some of their purchased jetty timber, and the French Island Community Association took care of grant applications and funding to get what would become the French Island War Memorial underway.

Lois Airs and Dianne Spark helped with the memorial′s design layout, while Keith carved the lettering on the memorial and Paul Henwood helped with its construction. Gary Airs and Daniel Cox helped with concreting for the timber uprights and flagpole. Large rocks for the memorial site were donated by the late Rose Scott, gathered from the Scott family property on the island.

“Many people gave help and advised on where to put different parts [of the memorial] such as the rocks from Rose Scott,” said Keith. “The rocks were transported by Noel Thompson, and a lot of grant work was done by Michele Neesham, plus many others. It was a whole community thing.”

The French Island War Memorial is a simple structure consisting of two uprights, each with plaques attached, naming French Island’s service personnel. The top beam is carved with the words, ‘Lest We Forget’. Nearby is a smaller structure with a plaque that reads, ‘Erected in Memory of those French Islanders who served their country in all Australian conflicts.’ All the timber used was reclaimed from the old jetty.

Prior to the memorial being erected, two honour boards in the local hall had been the only memorials on the island, providing most of the names now recorded on the war memorial. As Keith said, “A couple of other names were added from older Islanders’ memories. Apart from the name boards in the hall, there was no other island memorial.”

The French Island War Memorial was unveiled on ANZAC Day 2018 during the community’s first Dawn Service. Around 200 people attended, many of whom had their own connections to the island, travelling great distances for the event. For a community with a population of only around 140, it was an incredible day.

As the oldest living resident on French Island at the time, Rose Scott had been invited to unveil the memorial. This ANZAC Day, Roseʼs family will be guest speakers at the Dawn Service, in what they say will be a proud and privileged moment for them all.

As guest speaker for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service in 2023, John Bennetts from Shepparton was honoured to travel back to the island, which holds many fond memories for him.

John has four members of his family listed on the plaques – Albert Bennetts and Frank Chilcott from World War I, as well as John’s dad, Garth Bennetts, and Garth’s brother-in-law, Ken Biggs, from World War II.

“I felt humbled to have been given the honour to speak about my four relatives, two from the First World War who I did not know and two from the Second World War, who I did know, my father and uncle.”

For Keith, being involved in honouring those French Islanders who served during wartime, especially as a veteran himself, was incredibly special.