Of these three young Australian men who went off to fight during World War 1, the one in the centre , Oliver Harrison Ladlow ,19, was killed in France . His older brother,Albert,on the right, survived the war, but was killed in a tractor accident at Dooen North , Victoria. The handwritten information on the back of this postcard in the Little Darwin Collection says their other mate, F.G. Milne, was killed by a horse at Minyip, Victoria.
In the case of Private Oliver Ladlow,Service Number 1866, born at Birchip,an 18 year old farmer ,who gave his next of kin as his mother, Maryann Ladlow, Dooen North, he enlisted in April 1916, was 5ft 11 inches tall , weighed 10 stone 12 pound, and distinctive marks included scars on a leg, thigh and scalp. On joining the AIF 38th Battalion he was transported to France and hospitalised with bronchitis. Killed in action on January 10 1917,he was buried in the Bonjean Military Cemetery.
His family was forwarded two parcels .One contained his letters,photos, cards,pipe and pouch,wristlet watch and strap, knife,two belts, two cigarette holders, wallet,two pencils , a ring ,badges and coin. The other listed a razor strop,steel mirror in a case, writing pad,a hold -all, anti-sceptic(sic) stone , toothbrush, three razors , a shaving brush. The Department of Defence also sent the grieving family one memorial scroll and the King’s Message .
His family was forwarded two parcels .One contained his letters,photos, cards,pipe and pouch,wristlet watch and strap, knife,two belts, two cigarette holders, wallet,two pencils , a ring ,badges and coin. The other listed a razor strop,steel mirror in a case, writing pad,a hold -all, anti-sceptic(sic) stone , toothbrush, three razors , a shaving brush. The Department of Defence also sent the grieving family one memorial scroll and the King’s Message .
Albert Ladlow ,# 1865, a farmer,was 21 when he also enlisted in April 1916 . He was 6ft 1 inch tall,weighed 11 stone 5 pound , and had a chest measurement of 32-35 inches; there were no distinctive marks on his body. In the same 38th Battalion as his brother, he was sent to France , admitted to hospital variously suffering from mumps, laryngitis, scabies , a nasal obstruction and tonsilitis. Wounded in action, he was promoted to corporal.For his part in the War to End All Wars, he was “debited “ ninepence –nine cents – for losing an item of clothing . On September 30,1919, now aged 25, he married Maud Dear ,22, a spinster, whose father was a labourer.
In the case of the other soldier in the trio, F.G Milne, he seems to have been Frederick George Milne, of whom there is little information, who suffered from a septic heel in France and was discharged in 1917 due to deafness . During WW1, 67,500 Australians were killed out of a population of four million .Unknown tens of thousands returned suffering physical and mental impairment.
