THE little South Australian Mallee town of Lameroo was a fledgling eight years old when the Great World War began.
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Officially declared a town in 1906, Lameroo grew with the local railway - the driving force behind settlement and development of the town.
It also attracted many young workmen looking for employment on the land. By 1911 the population had flourished to 957 - at least 100 more than today.
"Because everything was labour intensive, there was an incredible amount of young men in Lameroo and district back then," local war history enthusiast Maureen Steinborner said.
The high male population meant that when the enlistment rally rolled around, more than 80 men signed up.
By war's end, 20 would pay the ultimate price with their lives.
"Lameroo was such a small town and we lost 20 men. Lameroo became devoid of young men," Mrs Steinborner said.
Among those to return was Oliver Collins, who left the family farm at Parilla to fight with the Light Horse in Egypt and Turkey. He returned to Australia in 1919 and began running his own farm at Parilla under the soldier settlement scheme, continuing there until his death.
His family donated much of his war memorabilia to the local historical society, including his meal ticket book, postcards and letters, his Red Cross bag and his “housewife” - a wooden accessory for mending socks and sewing on buttons.
Mr Collins took many photographs at the front, from soldiers using horses as shields to those showing more relaxed times in Egypt.
Two sons from the Davies family at Lameroo also served in World War I.
"Their mother was devastated when the younger son enlisted," Lameroo and District Historical Society president Heather Maynard said. "She didn't want both of them over there."
The older son, Stan, spent four years in France and came home unscathed, while the younger son Les contracted pneumonia in England and died.
A nephew, who was a sailor, later visited his grave in Wiltshire.