Lighting Up Our Heroes - Wynyard

The project looks at the lives of two Wynyard residents who volunteered to assist the Australian war effort in different conflicts. Sister Ruth Sargent enlisted in 1914, not long after returning from training in London. She spent WWI based in France, caring for Australian and Allied soldiers wounded on the Western Front. On her return to Wynyard she was employed as a school nurse on the North West Coast until her retirement 21 years later. She died in 1950. Robert Tyrell enlisted in the Australian Army in 1939 at the age of 19, having farmed at Calder near Wynyard. He later became a pilot and instructor with the RAAF, before returning to Wynyard where he still lives. The Wynyard Historical Society has amassed an impressive collection of photographs illustrating Australian life both at home and abroad during both World Wars. These photographs, along with biographical information on Sister Sargent and Robert Tyrell will be part of the presentation to be projected.