24/04/2026
Today marks 111 years since my grand uncle, Angus Valentine Cameron, was killed in action at Gallipoli. On the 25th of April, 1915, he fell in the service of his country—a loss that changed our family forever.
Angus was a tall, well-built man with plans to join the police force. Instead, he answered the call at the very outbreak of the war and embarked with the first contingent. He took part in the famous charge at Gallipoli, a moment that defined a nation and began a legacy of sacrifice for our family.
He was not alone in his service. The patriotism of the Cameron family was extraordinary, with five sons enlisting. While three brothers—Alan, James, and William—eventually returned to Australian shores, the family’s sacrifice reached across the world. My other grand uncle, Louis Cameron, also died in active service. After surviving the trenches with the New Zealand Field Artillery, he passed away from illness at a military hospital in England in early 1919, while still in uniform.
An entire ocean separates their resting places. Louis was buried with military honours at Tidworth Military Cemetery in England, while Angus—whose body was never recovered—rests forever in the soil of Gallipoli. At the time, it was written that despite her deep grief, their mother Mary found comfort in knowing her sons died for what they held dear.
That spirit of remembrance did not end with the war. To ensure her brothers were never forgotten, their sister later named her son Valentine Louis, bringing together the names of both Angus and Louis... my Grandfather.
Those names have travelled through our family ever since, but the legacy they carry is more than just a living thread of memory—it’s a sense of duty that remains a constant in our family today. Among my three siblings and myself, three of us chose to serve, while my other brother followed the path Angus originally intended and became a police officer.
When I look at this restored image of Angus, I see a man whose story did not end in 1915. It lives on in the names we still speak, the paths we've chosen, and the values we hold.
Today, we pause to remember the five Cameron brothers: the three who came home and the two who gave everything. We remember the mothers who waited for news and the names that we still speak with honour today.
Even now, Angus’s name continues to be projected onto the walls of the Australian War Memorial, a silent reminder that he is not forgotten.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
Lest we forget.
