John Joseph O’Brien’s death may still be clouded by mystery, a century later his descendants will remember him

His death may still be clouded by mystery, but a returned World War I veteran and beloved father who had been buried in an unmarked grave is set to be immortalised by a new memorial in Harvey. In May 1920 John Joseph O’Brien, 35, had missed the afternoon train leaving Harvey, just months after returning from war. The veteran decided to take the long 11km walk along train tracks leading back to his home in Benger at about 8.45pm. Shortly after passing its midway-point between Harvey and Wokalup — around 3.55am — a train, running along the same tracks as Mr O’Brien’s walking route, came to a halt after a body was discovered dragging beneath it. The body was brought to the Harvey Hotel and a coroner’s report was conducted at Yarloop — it was then determined to be the body of O’Brien. A century later, the descendants of the returned veteran decided a memorial should be erected in his honour, after discovering his body was buried in an unmarked grave at the Harvey Old Cemetery. O’Brien’s great-great nephew Michael Brereton said he has always had an interest in Australian military history and, after having a daughter of his own, decided to investigate his grandmother’s side of the family. “I thought it would be nice for her to know about her family and not just have vague stories and rumours about what may or may not have happened,” he said. Mr Brereton said his research began out of curiosity, but after delving deeper into his great-great uncle’s sad history he became immersed. “Here was a returned soldier who had survived captivity but had died in tragic circumstances, leaving his family with nothing but the generosity of his local community,” he said. “John’s death on the railway is also ironic, as John’s father, Patrick O’Brien, was a navvy who built railways in Victoria, he died when John was a young boy. “John’s mother Susannah, also died young, and the O’Brien children were, as far as I can tell, raised in orphanages.” Carol Cameron, a marital descendant of O’Brien, said she was passionate about genealogical research, spending countless hours every day on family history and over the past year on the erection of O’Brien’s memorial. Mr Brereton said this experience had given him pride in his family and had made everything “much more real”. “It’s no longer a history book, it’s a family history,” he said. Mr O’Brien’s descendants are due to hold a memorial and dedication service in July, at what used to be an unmarked grave in row 21.