Descendants Catherine Nugent and Hayley Salter delivered a moving speech about their great grand uncle who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
Catherine and her fiancé travelled from Kilsyth, while the rest of the family travelled from Warragul in Gippsland.
“We all felt very honoured to be in Wahgunyah and have often spoken about how we’d like to attend an ANZAC day there. Being Nugents, we are strongly connected to our family history in Wahgunyah,” Catherine told the Free Press.
Anthony and his twin brother, John, were born on August 15, 1888, in Wahgunyah to Anthony and Elisabeth Dunn. While John passed away before his second birthday, Anthony grew up in a large country family with several siblings at a property named "Blackwood," near St. Leonard's Winery.
Anthony married Lilian Melrose in 1911 at the Presbyterian Church in Hay, NSW and welcomed a daughter three years later in Rutherglen. By July of the same year, World War I had begun.
Anthony felt a sense of duty and patriotism and enlisted in Broadmeadows on August 26, 1914.
He was assigned to the 5th Battery which played a significant role in several key battles on the Western Front and the Middle East.
Anthony was a Gunner within the 5th Battery, responsible for firing and maintaining the artillery. In April 1915, the battery and the rest of the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade were deployed to Gallipoli, where they provided artillery support to the troops on the ground. The battery's guns were frequently targeted by Turkish artillery, but they managed to hold their position and provide accurate fire support to the troops below.
The battery was also involved in the August Offensive, where they fired thousands of rounds of ammunition, and helped to suppress Turkish artillery positions.
Anthony was hospitalised with bronchitis in Gallipoli in August 1915 and was later hospitalised with dysentery in Cairo in September. He was finally discharged from the hospital on November 30, 1915, to return to active duty.
After the ANZAC troops were evacuated from Gallipoli, the 5th Battery and the rest of the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade were redeployed to Egypt, where they continued their training before deployment to the Western Front.
The battery's first significant engagement on the Western Front was at the Battle of Pozieres, which began on July 23, 1916. The 5th battery's guns were positioned just behind the front line, allowing them to fire accurately at German positions and provide fire support to the British troops.
On the 29th of July 1916, while serving in France, Anthony died in action.
He had just left his gun and was reporting to an officer when the shell struck. Calling for help, Sgt. Masters and Gunner Liverford bravely went to his aid, risking their own lives to try to rescue him, however all three were killed when another shell exploded.
Great grandniece Catherine described Anthony as “a young, imperfect country kid from a humble background.”
“He was a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a friend. He was the man his brothers ran to rescue when he called for help, throwing themselves in danger to try and save.”
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