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Remembrance Day 2018: World War One ended 100 years ago

100 years World War One ended 100 years ago. As an Australian, each year we observe one minutes silence on Remembrance Day at the 11 th Hour on the 11th Day of the 11th Month. The  ‘Last Post’ is played on the bugle. And, the ‘Ode of Remembrance’ is cited: ‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.’ [1] Lest We Forget. #RemembranceDay #1MS #Armistice100 #TYFYS Lest we forget Lest we forget those who never came home. Those who lie in known and unknown graves. Those whose remains linger where they lay and remain missing. They are commemorated on Memorials to the Missing, like Menin Gate  in Ypres, Belgium,  like  my great-grandfather, Walter Lindley. [2]   Lest we forget the families torn apart  as they could not lay their loved ones in their final resting place. Lest we forget those who ca...
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Vikings

The next season of the TV series Vikings is nearly here.  And, it reminds me of my family history research. S omeone traced my family tree back to the brother, Sigurd, that Ivar killed in Vikings.  I don't know if it's been verified or not!  So, I don't know if it's true or not!  I just find it interesting that someone could trace a family line back to Ragnar and his sons whether it's true or not.  So, it makes it a bit eerily to watch, especially Ragnar's sons do battle.  But then, if I wasn't interested in my family history, I would never have known and followed the breadcrumbs that someone left in tracing it back to them. Whether it was a true or false claim.  It just leaves me to wonder.  And, it makes history even more fascinating to me cause of all the ancestors that I stumble across. And, I want to learn about the kind of lives that they might have led.
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'Big Toe Severed' at Koondrook

My Grandfather, Percy Empey, cut his big toe at Koondoork. He was taken by tram from Koondrook to Kerang. The story appeared in  The Bendigo Advertiser in 1917. Notes ' Big Toe Severed ', The Bendigo Advertiser, 27 October 1917, p.10, Accessed 27 August 2018. Photography by Jennifer Empey, 2018. 
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A visit to a farm at Koondrook in 1910

The following story appeared in The Leader in 1910 of a farm visit by my great-uncle Bill Empey. In August 2018, I went to Koondrook to visit the country town by the Murray River in Victoria. I captured some photos of the town to add depth to his story.  Notes ‘ A visit to a farm’ by William Empey . ‘ Correspondence ’, The Leader , 16 April 1910, p. 50., Accessed 27 August 2018. Photography  by Jennifer Empey , 2018.
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The Disappearance of William Empey. Content Warning: Death and Disturbing Content

The fire crackled. Water bubbled to the boil. Bacon and eggs waffled through the weatherboard house on the corner of Villeneuve and Downey Streets in Alexandra. Modern Day Villeneuve Street, Alexandra ‘Dad, your breakfast is ready,’ hollered Lily. ‘Come, sit down, and eat it whilst it’s hot!’ ‘I’m comin’’, William said. ‘It smells delish. Can you take some money to the post office to send to your mother?’ ‘Today, yes I can.’ She placed the money in her apron pocket. At seven 7 o’clock, he grabbed his coat and hat. He stuffed his dinner in his coat pocket and picked up his billy. ‘Bye, Lily,’ he called out. ‘Bye, dad,’ she said, as she came running to the door. She kissed him bye. Outside, the smell of smoke drifted up his nostrils. On the other side of the Ultima Thule Creek, the quartz crusher loomed over the town. Its mechanical arms heaved up and down. Something caught his eye. Blooming Heck! That pesky goat has gotten out again , he thought. I don’t want ...
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