REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED: The Shaw Brothers

Alfred George Shaw Photos supplied

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On Remembrance Day, we honour those who served in the many theatres of war to protect the values we cherish as a nation. We remember those who were killed in battle, endured the horrors of prisoner-of-war camps, returned home wounded, ill or injured—sometimes mere shadows of their former selves—or died in later years, long after the sounds of battle had faded.  

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The Proserpine Cenotaph bears the names of 80 service personnel who made the supreme sacrifice. Among those commemorated is Alfred George Shaw (No. 6416, 25^th Battalion), who was killed in action at Mont St Quentin, France, on September 2, 1918.  

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Alfred was born in Bowen on October 20, 1892, to Charles Henry and Sarah Ann Shaw (née Cinnamond) of Kelsey Creek. He attended Kelsey Creek School and enlisted in Bowen on May 23, 1916. Posted to the 18^th/25^th Battalion at Lytton Camp, he later embarked from Sydney aboard the “Demosthemes” on December 23. Three months later, on March 3, 1917, Alfred disembarked at Plymouth, England, and joined the 7^th Training Battalion at Rolleston. On June 16, he sailed from Southampton for France, where he was posted to the 2^nd Australian Division Base Depot at Havre and subsequently joined the 25^th Battalion.  

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On October 4, while in action, he suffered a severe gunshot wound to his left shoulder. Alfred was treated at the 2^nd Stationary Hospital in France before being transferred to the Southern General Hospital in Birmingham, England. He was later posted to the 2^nd Commonwealth Depot at Weymouth and eventually returned to France, rejoining his battalion on January 15, 1918.  

After assisting during the German Spring Offensive, which began on March 31, Australian troops took part in the counter-offensive that captured the heights of Mont St Quentin on September 3, 1918. Sadly, Alfred George Shaw was killed in action at Mont St Quentin, France, just one day before the successful offensive against the Germans and only two months before the war ended.  

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Alfred was initially buried in an isolated grave. In 1920, his remains were exhumed and reinterred in the Péronne Communal Cemetery Extension situated in the Somme department of the Picardy region of France.  

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Alfred’s younger brother, John Melton Shaw (No. 5910, Lance Corporal, 25^th Reinforcement, 26^th Battalion), also served and was awarded the Military Medal.  

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Born on January 8, 1896, in Kelsey Creek, he enlisted approximately the same time as his brother. They went through basic training together before being separated into different battalions. John embarked from Brisbane aboard the “Boonah” on October 10, 1916, bound for Plymouth, England and embarked for France on April 25, 1917.  

On October 31, he was wounded in action with poisonous gas – only several weeks after his brother was also wounded in action.    

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John Melton Shaw was promoted to Lance-Corporal on July 21, 1918, and on October 10, he was awarded the Military Medal during action near the French town of Peronne, ironically where his brother, Alfred, was eventually buried.  

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Lance Corporal John Melton Shaw returned to Australia on June 4, 1919. On October 10, he married Laura Elizabeth Cooper whose brother, Private Joseph (Percy) Cooper had been killed in action near Ypres, Belgium on October 5, 1917.  

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When World War Two broke out, Lieutenant Shaw dutifully enlisted in the Voluntary Defence Corps (VDC) 22^nd Battalion on April 16, 1942, and fulfilled this important wartime role until October 22, 1945.  

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In 1949, he and his wife moved to Mackay and then Brisbane in 1968. John Melton Shaw died on March 13, 1970.  

We salute the Shaw family and remain grateful for their service.  

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LEST WE FORGET.  

Story and photos courtesy Proserpine Historical Museum. Information sourced from “Proserpine answered the call” by Lloyd Fox and Lyn Burke.  

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