School cadets at Coburg State School

After Lord Kitchener's visit to Australia in late 1909, compulsory military training was introduced for all Australian boys aged between 12 and 18 years.

Junior Cadets were aged 12 to 14 years old and had to train for 90 hours each year. They undertook their training at their primary schools, which in those times before government secondary schools went to Grade 8.

At Melbourne Continuation School (later Melbourne High School) where many of the state's teachers were educated prior to taking up teacher training, the boys of the school trained on Wednesday afternoons. The girls, being the future mothers of the nation, trained in the domestic sciences.

Melbourne Continuation School cadets on parade, c.1910. Image H83.140/1. Image courtesy State Library of Victoria. 

The following photograph of the Grade 6+ class at Coburg State School in 1910 features four boys in their cadet uniforms. 

In the centre of the back row is Victor Harder who was killed in action in France on 26 April 1918. To his right is his brother Keith Harder who survived the war. Keith's best friend Les Ward is two down from Victor on the left. Les died of gunshot wounds on 12 March 1917. Two rows down from Keith is the Harder brothers' sister Gladys who was married to George Fowler of Coburg. He was killed in action in France on 29 September 1918. We believe that the boy second from the right in the back row is Leonard Francis whose sister Kathleen married Keith Harder after the war.

Grades 6+ class, Coburg State School, 1910. Teacher Mr O'Hanlon. Image courtesy Paul Sumner.

Working from a list of students listed in the school's prize distribution ceremony held on 8 December 1908 ('Coburg Leader', 2 January 1909, p.4) the following boys of this age group were mentioned: Jack Gould, William Libbis and Leslie Libbis (6th Class); Leonard Francis, Victor Harder, Frank Pridham and Jack Aitken (Upper 5th class); Keith Harder and Ronald Marshall (Lower 5th Class). It is probable, then, that all of these boys are in this photograph.

We have yet to identify the other students in this photograph. Please let me know if you can identify any of them.