Community & Business
31 October, 2025
Headstone dedication honours seven
Headstone dedication service in Stanthorpe
Stanthorpe cemetery welcomed locals, and invited guests from near and far, for the Stanthorpe RSL Sub-Branch's annual Memorial Projects headstone dedication service on Tuesday, October 21. The Sub-Branch confirmed that the endeavour, previously called the 'Unmarked Graves Project', begun in 2018, "with a number of unmarked sites that relate to veterans that saw operational service or served within Australia over the period of WW1 (1914-1918) having been marked and dedicated". The Memorial Projects "seek to expand its assistance to the unmarked graves of all veterans that served at home and abroad" and as such, chaplain Alan Colyer led the blessing of seven individual new headstones, the final resting place of these veterans:
Lieutenant Arthur Francis BENTLEY
Date of Birth C1892, Barnstaple, England. Date of Death 17/12/1923, aged 32.
Private Cecil Hamilton BOSTON
Date of Birth 16/08/1919, Stanthorpe, Qld. Date of Death 08/08/1993, aged 73.
Chief Petty Officer Ernest FENWICK
Date of Birth, 01/06/1886, Perthshire, Scotland. Date of Death, 19/10/1931, aged 45.
Sapper William Donald FRASER
Date of Birth 05/01/1910, Georgetown, Qld. Date of Death 10/02/1970, aged 60.
Private William Oswald McCARTHY
Date of Birth, 04/02/1884, Glen Innes, NSW. Date of Death 26/06/1958, aged 74.
Sapper Albert Edward PARKES
Date of Birth, C1885, Brisbane, Qld. Date of Death 13/02/1917, aged 22.
Private Albert Francis THOMPSON
Date of Birth 17/03/1922, Stanthorpe, Qld. Date of Death 09/06/1983, aged 61.
Along with members of the Stanthorpe RSL Sub-Branch, local council and the Stanthorpe Women's Auxiliary, relatives of Private Boston's and Private Thompson's families attended. An apology was received from Heather Fenwick, granddaughter of Chief Petty Officer Ernest Fenwick.
Stanthorpe RSL Sub-Branch Vice President, Glen Gibson, who leads the Memorial Projects team, worked closely with highly-qualified stonemason, Craig Jessen, to achieve the valued end result. Mr Gibson acknowledged the Sub-Branch's involvement and their co-ordination with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and local military researchers such as Deborah Wheeler and Mark Winkler. "Being able to remember the service of our veterans in this manner is one of the ways we are able to give back to the community that supports us," Mr Gibson said. Ms Wheeler described the project as "gratifying" and "heart-warming".
"It is gratifying to know the research I undertook from 2015-2018, on the Kyoomba Sanatorium, is being used to help identify these veterans and their stories," she told the Town & Country Journal.
"Arthur Francis Bentley, Ernest Fenwick and Albert Edward Parkes were all connected with the sanatorium. Being a part of this project and being able to connect with the families is truely heart-warming.'
To find out more about the project contact the Sub-Branch on 4681 0047.
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