When Edward Sydney Cawe enlisted to fight in World War I in July 1915, he put down his age as 18.
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He arrived at the front in March 1916, but just four months later, on July 26, 1916, he was killed in action in France.
However, Private Cawe was not 18 when he enlisted - he was only 14, and died just after his 16th birthday.
Private Cawe is among the 363 people memorialised on the Wollongong Cenotaph who residents turned out to honour in the pre-dawn darkness of Anzac Day 2024, as well as the Australians who have served, and lost their lives, in all conflicts.
City of Wollongong RSL Sub-branch honorary secretary and treasurer Peter Lipscomb shared Private Cawe's story, along with three others, to highlight the humanity of those people whose mere surnames and initials were inscribed on the cenotaph.
Private Cawe's address at the time of enlistment was Brisbane, but his aunt lived in Dapto; he was also named on the Unanderra Public School honour roll and the Dapto War Memorial.
"Edward may have lived in Wollongong when he was younger, and given the tragic loss at such a young age, it may have been that his benevolent aunty... lobbied and generously donated to the local committee to have her young nephew's name remembered on memorials," Mr Lipscomb said.
Another name on the cenotaph is Aitken, AM: Archibald Aitken Miller, a 21-year-old Scottish coal miner living in Mount Kembla who was rejected for service several times before successfully enlisting by using his middle name as his surname. He died in action in May 1916.
Norman McLeod Smith was the mayor of Wollongong when he enlisted in July 1917 but on the front in France he contracted 'trench fever' and he eventually returned to Australia in early 1919. He died in 1928 at 43, and it is not known if his war injuries contributed.
The final story told was that of Wollongong farrier William George Edwards, 26, who was killed in his first engagement during the Battle of the Somme, just one month after arriving at the front.
His nephew Norm Edwards saw a photograph of his uncle, held in the Wollongong sub-branch's collection, for the first time last year.
"These brief glimpses into their lives, and deaths, give us a more personal understanding of their bravery and the profound impact their loss had on their families and the community," Mr Lipscomb said.
But there were another 360 names, he said, that might belong on the cenotaph that were not listed.
Mr Lipscomb also drew attention to the terrible death toll incurred during WWI, 'the war to end all wars'.
Of the 330,000 Australians who served overseas, 61,500 died - "an unbelievable fatality rate of 19 per cent".
Mr Lipscomb said the crowd that gathered to pay their respects represented an "overwhelming turnout".
He asked them to dedicate this Anzac Day - the 109th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing - to honouring those listed on the 100-year-old cenotaph and reflect on the contribution given by all who had served in Australia's military, "in any capacity, at any time, and to especially take a moment to honour over 100,000 Australians who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of our nation in all wars".
"Whilst it's important that we honour and remember the sacrifices of our veterans, let us also embrace the Anzac spirit and the Australian spirit by continuing to come together as a community," he said.