Category Archives: Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F.)

The Extraordinary Life of Uncle Billy.

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Anzac Day approached and I started to reflect on my military ancestors. Last year I presented Uncle Jack’s story of his service at Gallipoli. This year I want to honour another uncle, who served in the First World war.  His, was an extraordinary life and the more I learn about him, the more I respect and admire him. Allow me to introduce you to William Wright, MM, alias Harold Harvey and affectionately known to the family as Uncle Billy. I … Continue reading

Finding my grandfather – William Leonard Tunny (Len) 1884-1942. Part 2.

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Readers may recall I introduced my grandfather Len in my story of 14 November, this is a continuation of Len’s tale after he returned from World War One. In 2014, I came across a website called Adopt a Digger, a centenary project to map returned soldiers from the Sunshine Coast area, particularly those who had taken up land at the Beerburrum Soldier Settlement.[1] Here I also discovered a photograph of my grandfather. It was taken at the camp in Enoggera … Continue reading

Grandfather: William Leonard Tunny (Len) 1884-1942. Part 1.

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By Yvonne Tunny. When I started my family history search into my father’s family, all I had was mum’s recollections and a handwritten copy of my grandparent’s marriage certificate.[1] My grandfather, Leonard Tunny (Len) said he was a farmer from Beerburrum, born in Cunnamulla and 29 years old when he married the 19-year-old Elizabeth Leitch Robertson (Lizzie) at the ‘residence of the bride’s parents’ on 20 September 1920 in Beerburrum, Queensland. I knew where Beerburrum was, it is a small … Continue reading

Queensland Nurse – Agnes Katharina Isambert

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By Marg Doherty I enjoy researching women, but I get frustrated when I see only birth information for women and no more. This is one reason why I research WW1 nurses from Queensland. When I was asked to write this blog, I thought I would write about a nurse whom I had not fully researched. For this reason, I selected Agnes Katharina Isambert and I have found a fascinating story. Agnes was born in Queensland and had a difficult childhood, … Continue reading

If only I had known

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Gold Coast – January 2019 Recently my two older cousins and I were reminiscing about our paternal grandfather and the Sundays we spent at our grandparent’s house during the 1950s. We laughed about running through the house, remembering how we had to jump over the sills that lead onto the side veranda, making sudden noises and laughing and yelling as we went. These were activities that we cousins had been given strict instructions not to do.  None of the adults … Continue reading