Plaque 1
'The Bugler from Burwood' was officially unveiled at the Burwood Anzac Centenary Dawn Service Saturday 25 April 2015 by Cr John Faker, Mayor of Burwood and Alex Pirie, President, Burwood RSL Sub Branch. On behalf of the Burwood Anzac Centenary Years’ Commemorative Service Committee.
Michael McMahon, General Manager, Burwood Council. Andrew Anderson, General Manager, Club Burwood RSL.
Plaque 2
'The Bugler from Burwood' was officially unveiled at the Burwood Anzac Centenary Dawn Service Saturday 25 April 2015 by:
Burwood Council: Cr John Faker, Mayor, Cr George Mannah, Deputy Mayor, Cr Sally Deans, Cr Tony Doueihi, Cr Lesley Furneaux-Cook, Cr Justin Taunton, Cr Ernest Wong,
Club Burwood: Graham Green, President, Mike R. Yarrow, Deputy President, Alex Pirie, Vice President, Geoffrey F. Troy, Robert L. Shirvington, Kevin J. Brady, Barry Remmington, Graham Glover, Colin Hodges.
This sculpture marks the centenary of World War I and the birth of the Anzac Legend, serving as a permanent reminder of our fallen heroes and the sacrifice they made.
Plaque 3
'The Bugler from Burwood'
The story of Leonard Francis Hall, 9 May 1897– 24 February 1999
Leonard Francis Hall was born in Burwood on 9 May 1897 and was part of the celebrated 10th Light Horse Regiment which included some of the best riders in the world.
Hall enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force in 1915 after the Major of the Light Horse Regiment heard him play the bugle and begged him to join as their regiment did not have a bugler.
As Hall boarded the boat to the Great War with his bugle in hand, that he would not play again, he plucked an emu plume from his slouch hat and placed it into the hands of a girl waving in the crowd.
When Hall landed at Gallipoli in the former Ottoman Empire he was the lead machine-gunner in the impossible assault of the Battle of Nek. This was the worst battle of the Gallipoli campaign with 879 of his fellow diggers killed.
After evacuating the Gallipoli peninsula, Hall fought in the Battle of Beersheba in Ottoman Syria in 1917 where he was injured by a bomb which killed nine out of his 14-man crew and his horse, Q6.
The courage he exhibited during this campaign saw him picked by Thomas Edward Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) to help the British Empire in the Capture of Damascus in 1918.
Hall returned to Australia in 1919 and was met by a woman who said, “Excuse me sir, would you like your plume back?” Hall married his feather caretaker two years later and they had two children.
Leonard Francis Hall died in Perth in 24 February 1999, aged 101 years, after living a life of perseverance, strength and heroism.
Plaque 4
The Anzac Legend
Burwood has a strong connection to World War I and the Anzac Legend with 937 men and 4 women from the area enlisted to serve from 1914-1918.
Leonard Francis Hall's story serves as a symbol of the many personal local stories that emerged from those tragic but defining moments in our nation’s history.
'The Bugler from Burwood' is dedicated to these brave men and women for the ultimate sacrifice they made to protect our country and the freedoms we are blessed to enjoy. It also serves as a permanent reminder to educate younger generations.
The sculpture was commissioned by the Burwood Anzac Years' Commemorative Service Committee and watches over the Burwood Memorial Arch, unveiled on Anzac Day 1923, which includes the names of these men and women.
Together, 'The Bugler from Burwood' and the Burwood Memorial Arch will ensure that their memory will never be forgotten.
Lest we forget.
Sculpture by Bodo Muche 2015.