THE BOOKS OF REMEMBRANCE
Six Carrucan men enlisted in the Australian Infantry Force during the First World War. They were:
- Thomas Carrucan who
enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the 8th July 1915 at the age of
22 years 9 months. He was among the 36600 men who enlisted in July 1915
as part of the recruitment drive that followed the landing at Gallipoli
on the 25th April 1915.
- Patrick Carrucan , one of his uncles and then aged 51, enlisted 9 days later on the 19th July 1915 but was discharged medically unfit in Sept 1915. Hence his name does not appear in the Books of Remembrance.
- Thomas' first cousin, 25 year old Charles Reginald (Reg) Carrucan, enlisted on 12th February 1916 and survived after being gassed in France on the 7th June 1917.
- Thomas' third cousin, 22 year old William Carrucan, enlisted on the 20th February 1916 and was
killed in action on the 3rd March 1917. William was one of Patrick's
sons.
- Six weeks after his son Charles Reginald (Reg) enlisted, his father, 52 year old John Carrucan, lied about his age and enlisted in a tunnelling company on the 25th March 1916.
- William's brother, 18 year old Michael Carrucan enlisted into the Australian Army on the 24th January 1918, after receiving his mother's written consent. William was obviously also one of Patrick's sons.
Most of these men listed their occupations as driver, labourer or boot maker. Patrick was the warden at the Kew Asylum. They were all volunteers, unlike their British counterparts.
The Books of Remembrance, carefully inscribed by eight calligraphers, contain the names of the 89,100 members of the Australian Imperial Force, the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force who were either born or enlisted in Victoria and served overseas in World War I, or died in camp prior to embarkation. There are thirty-eight Army and Flying Corps Books, one Naval Book and one Sundry Book which contains the names of Victorians who served in non-Australian units. The names appear in alphabetical order with no distinction of rank, although decorations are cited. Where there are identical names, the service number is recorded for further identification.
The following page (photo taken by Matthew Carrucan), shows the names of 5 of the 6 Carrucans mentioned above. The Books of Remembrance are kept in the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.
The Books of Remembrance may be searched online at http://www.shrine.org.au/Remembrance/Books-of-Remembrance.