War diaries earn gong
ARMY veteran Eldon Bryant received a special military plaque posted by an anonymous sender ahead of Remembrance Day for helping preserve a piece of history.
The Townsville retiree dedicated 12 months to carefully transcribing the diaries of Lieutenant Lyell Keith Swann.
“Many nights down in the rumpus room sitting in front of my old computer, I could feel the ghost of Lyell Keith standing behind me, just watching making sure I didn’t mess things up,” Eldon said.
“I make that comment very sincerely, I believe he was peering over my shoulder. I just sensed it so strongly.”
Lyell, alongside his two brothers Gordon and Roy, fought in World War I, with Lyell stationed on the Western Front.
The youngest of the brothers, he meticulously documented the horrors those brave young men endured in the trenches.
Lyell served in the 40th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, but never made it back home to Adelaide.
He died aged 23 in an aeroplane accident four days after the armistice in 1918.
Having met Gordon when he was younger, Eldon described him as a “resilient” man. “They all were and brought up with the strict doctrine of the Methodist Church,” he said.
Eldon said his parents were dear friends of the Swann family, and felt a responsibility to make sure their stories were never lost.
“I went about transcribing his work very methodically,” he said. “Even if a comma was in the wrong place I left it there, people did speak and write differently to what we do today.”
In May 2005 Eldon donated Swann’s war memorabilia as well as the original diaries to the school he and his brothers attended, Prince Alfred College.
Eldon said the Centenary of the Armistice carried particular significance for him because of his connection to the Swann family.
Anyone wishing to read the diaries can contact Eldon at artillery. oz@ bigpond. com for a free PDF copy.