THERE are 104 of them . . . so far.

Moree RSL Sub-Branch members believe there could be another 150. Possibly more.

Volunteers have these past few weeks been busy at Moree Cemetery, identifying and acknowledging the gravesites of World War 2 returned service personnel.

To commemorate Anzac Day, small Australian flags have been placed on their graves.

Moree Regional Military Museum trustee, John Tramby, said plans are in place to put permanent markers on the graves of all personnel.

“There is a fund available to identify World War 1 interments. If they’re not acknowledged with a badge or emblem, a grant is available to have a permanent insignia placed on their gravesite, subject to family approval,” Mr Tramby said.

“RSL NSW felt it was time we started acknowledging World War 2 veterans, because most have left us. They’ve passed on.

“We did a fair bit of research and we’ve come up with about 250 interred at Moree Cemetery. We’ve identified 104 so far, but there are more,” he said.

“It’s an ongoing project, and we’ve done most of the lawn section of the cemetery. The older sections are much harder, but we want to locate them all, including World War 1 personnel.”

Australian flags have been placed on the graves of returned service personnel by Moree RSL Sub-Branch volunteers.

Mr Tramby said tracing returned personnel was not an easy task. Research through technology has helped enormously, but often connecting with veterans’ families is the only way some puzzles can be solved.

“Personnel born in Moree and who enlisted in Moree are traceable, but a lot of veterans relocated here and were then interred at the cemetery,” he said.

“That doesn’t show up on army records, so the only way we have of identifying them is through family contact.

“We are asking for assistance to identify these personnel. Some families, when they inter their veteran, actually put the Australian badge on the grave, and we learn about them that way. But a lot didn’t do that.

“It’s a pretty big job, but we’re getting there,” Mr Tramby said.

Mr Tramby said the long-range goal was to honour the gravesites of all returned personnel with insignia to recognise their service.

“We’ve put small Australian flags on the gravesites we’ve found so far, and at some stage we hope to place permanent markers, subject to family permission. Some families have already done something similar,” Mr Tramby said.

“We don’t want to interfere with family history, but we’d like to recognise and acknowledge what these veterans did for us.”

Mr Tramby encourages relatives of returned personnel buried at Moree Cemetery to get in touch.

He can be contacted on 0428 659048.

“We can do the research, through the support of council, and if we know the person’s name we can locate the gravesite,” Mr Tramby said.

“We can also do a history search. If people think they may have a relative buried at Moree who is returned personnel, give us the name and we’ll do the research.”

Moree RSL Sub-Branch, in conjunction with Moree Regional Military Museum, can also now arrange replica badges of deceased veterans for relatives to wear in Anzac Day marches.

“We can now create replica medals for next-of-kin to wear on Anzac Day,” Mr Tramby said.

“This year we have a section in the march for veterans’ next-of-kin, and they’ll be recognised as descendants of those service personnel.

“They’ll be invited to march with or without medals, but if they’ve got medals, even better.

“Next year, we can get replica medals for them,” he said.

Moree RSL Regional Military Museum is open to the public Fridays between 10am and 4pm and Saturday mornings between 10am and 2pm.

The museum will be open to the public from about 1pm until 5pm on Anzac Day.

The Moree RSL Regional Military Museum received various grants through Federal funding under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LRCI), and local contributions, and is strongly supported by Moree Plains Shire Council.

Volunteers are encouraged and welcomed at the museum.

Anyone wishing to become a volunteer can contact John Tramby on 0428 659048 or RSL Sub-Branch president John Williams on 0428 650080.

Anzac Day Moree

Dawn Service

Where: Moree Services Club Memorial Window

Time: 6am

Private Max Wales Memorial Service

Where: Wales Memorial Park on the western side of Moree Services Club

Time: 9am

Anzac Day March and Memorial Service

Where: Balo Street

Time: from 9.30am

Service: Moree War Memorial Hall

Moree RSL Regional Military Museum will be open to the public from about 1pm until 5pm