REPRESENTATIVES of the 39th Battalion Association were at Korumburra RSL on Saturday to gather remaining items from the military collection of Lt Col Alexander (Alex) Paterson DSO MC.
As previously reported in the Sentinel-Times, most of the vast collection went to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra earlier this year, the Korumburra RSL playing a central role in finding a suitable home for the hoard.
While the aim was to keep as many of the items together as possible, some were duplicates of ones already held by the AWM or were deemed by its representatives to be more suited to the 39th Battalion Association.
Alex spent his entire WWI service with the 39th Battalion, which he commanded.
Merren and Norm Stockdale of the 39th Battalion Association were delighted to learn about the overall Paterson collection and the objects going to the Association, of which Merren is secretary.
The Stockdales chatted to members of the Paterson family and were given a detailed insight into many of the remaining items by Korumburra RSL’s Tony Moon.
Those included programs for farewell and welcome home events for the 39th Battalion and an album of Alex’s photos.
Merren explained that the 39th Battalion Association, based in Ballarat, was originally inspired by the WWII 39th Battalion, famous for its major role at Kokoda.
The Association later included the 39th Battalion of WWI and the current 39th Operational Support Battalion that was established in 2006.
Merren spoke of the importance of keeping the stories alive, her father having served with the 39th Battalion in WWII.
Many of the Paterson objects that have gone to the 39th Battalion Association are likely to be displayed at the home of the 39th Operational Support Battalion, Merren explaining that would keep them in the “39th family”.
Alex’s relatives long searched for a suitable home for his collection, with him having expressed the wish for it to be on display to honour those who didn’t come home from the war.
Family member Margaret Scott said she’s thrilled the collection will be catalogued and displayed, albeit there was some sadness for the family in handing it over.