Our People in NSW
Lambton Cameron - From Canberra to Flanders Fields
Musician Lambton will be in Belgium along with 21 soldiers from 51st Battalion, the Far North Queensland Regiment (51 FNQR). They are there for the military funeral of five diggers killed 90 years ago during the Battle of Passchendaele, whose bodies were recently discovered during pipeline excavations.
Due to road relocation shortly after World War I, they had been missed when the remains of other soldiers were removed to permanent war graves nearby.
DNA testing has confirmed the names of two of the five soldiers, and one, Sergeant Calder, was from the 51st Battalion. Family members of the two identified soldiers will also be at the funeral.
“As an army musician I get to travel a lot – around Australia and overseas,” Cameron said.
“I’ve already been to Malaysia and South Korea, so this is certainly the furthest I have been with the army.
“In Belgium I’ll be playing the pipes during the ceremony, and also playing a slow sequence on the drums as the coffins are brought in.
“I think this ceremony is important for what it says about our attitude today.
“It’s important symbolically- it shows that we care what happens, and hopefully future generations of Australians will show similar feelings about what happens to us.”
On October 4 Lambton will be at the Buttes Military Cemetery, Polygon Wood for the funeral of the five Australian soldiers. The diggers from 51 FNQR will be providing the honour guard. After the funeral, the detachment will take part in local 90th anniversary events.
The next day, Lambton and his fellow soldiers will represent the Australian Army at the evening ceremony at the Menin Gate, Ypres, by the road which led from this ancient regional town to the battlefield. The citizens of Ypres hold this ceremony at 8pm every night of the year.
Some 60,000 Australians — all volunteers — were killed in World War I.