Charters Towers is set to become the focal point for miners lost at war.
The Towers was a well-established mining centre at the outbreak of World War I and contributed 39 men from the pits and tunnels to fight on the front line.
About 4,500 Australian miners enlisted and 337 lost their lives.
On, or rather under the front line, the miners would plant explosives to disrupt enemy advances and fight against similar action visited upon the Commonwealth Troops by the German tunnellers.
One of the Charters Towers volunteers died. Sapper Francis (Frank) Hugh Armstrong fell in the Third Battle of Ypres near Polygon Wood on October 1, 1917.
He was 26 years old and undertaking an engineering assignment above ground when he was directly hit by artillery fire.
Amateur war historian and retired mining engineer Ross Thomas is flying to Belgium where he’ll meet up with an official party for a Veteran Pinning Ceremony to commemorate the loss of Australian miners.
Since his body was never found, they were planning to capture a handful of dirt from where Sapper Armstrong fell and return it to Australia, Mr Thomas said.
“The whole idea of the project is to bring back a soil specimen from the battlefield in Belgium where this Battle of Polygon Wood was fought to bring a specimen home to Charters Towers.
“… and then to sandwich it between perspex sheets and intern in the Tunnellers Tribute to honour not just Sapper Armstrong. Let’s call him the trigger to bring home the spirit of the other 330 odd tunnellers of the Australian Mining Corps that never made it back.
“Part of the tribute will be an eternally burning mining lamp, which is a bit like a lighthouse in a harbour to give safe passage to sailors back to port. The idea of the miners’ lamp is to beckon home the spirit.
“It’s just more the symbolism of returning home a soil specimen and to reflect the last grounds that the soldiers walked on and sadly perished.”
The memorial is being established at the site of the Gold Towers commercial precinct development.
Mr Thomas said he would see home the sachet as far as Tullamarine Airport where it would be handed over to the quarantine authorities before being transported to Charters Towers for interment next year.
The ceremony will be held on site in Belgium on November 9, two days before Armistice Day.
It was the first tribute of its kind, Mr Thomas said.
“We’re not aware of anything like this in, not just Australia but the world, a tribute to the contribution of miners in the war effort.
“We have individual memorials, but not a tribute to a country’s contribution. Australia sent over four and a half thousand. 336 were left behind … including Sapper Armstrong.”
There are hopes the that the RAAF would transport the soil from Melbourne to Townsville around June next year where Mr Thomas said it would be met in by Sapper Armstrong’s great niece Rhonda Armstrong who lives in the city.