The following story of one of the 22nd Battalion’s most decorated soldiers is taken from the Marlborough Express online news, published on 4th August 2023. Acknowledgement and thanks also goes to Simon Ewing-Jarvie of the New Zealand Remembrance Army for his part in this story.
Military memorial for forgotten Australian war hero in Marlborough
A highly-decorated Australian soldier who kept his gallantry secret after settling in Marlborough will finally be honoured with a memorial service with full military honours.
Lance Corporal Norman Douglas Weston (Norm), originally from Omeo, Victoria, Australia, had lain almost forgotten in Havelock Cemetery for more than 20 years, before volunteer grave cleaners became intrigued by his presence there and researched his past.
Now, 107 years to the day since Weston was severely wounded in action at the Battle of the Somme, a new grave plaque is to be unveiled, and his story told at a ceremony in his honour on Saturday morning. His actions that day reportedly saved the lives of several of his comrades and he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Russian Cross of Saint George (Third Class).
Weston was said to have never spoken of the events that day, and his friends and neighbours in Havelock had no idea of his wartime bravery.
Simon Ewing-Jarvie, a retired military officer and member of the New Zealand Remembrance Army, said he decided to find out more about the soldier’s story while he was tending graves in Havelock Cemetery. “I was there with a bucket of water, scrubbing the service graves, and I came across this grave that had not the NZ military insignia but the Australian Imperial Force logo from the first World War, which I thought was interesting and wondered what it was doing here,” Ewing-Jarvie said.
“So I took down some notes about who it was, and then started doing some research, and couldn’t find anything. I asked around town and no-one really knew much.”
Ewing-Jarvie said he then took to social media, and armed with Weston’s service number was able to track down the soldier’s former regiment, and in turn, his history.
“He had gallantry medals which weren’t actually on his bronze plaque which is the normal protocol.
“We also found out he was a Lance Corporal, but his plaque said Private.
“Why were his gallantry medals not on his bronze plaque? I’m sure that’s because he didn’t tell anyone, there was no internet, he was Australian, so there’s no way that New Zealanders would’ve known, and he was quite a humble guy.”
Ewing-Jarvie believed Weston was the most decorated serviceman in Havelock Cemetery and possibly one of the most decorated Australians buried anywhere in New Zealand.
After immigrating to Aotearoa in the late 1930s and eventually settling down in Marlborough, Weston became publican at the Havelock Hotel, and was also a keen member of the local bowls club that was acting as the Returned and Services Association (RSA) Havelock headquarters at the time.
Further research by members of the Remembrance Army found that Weston had become one of the “town fathers” of Havelock in later life, regularly petitioning the Marlborough District Council and other authorities for things that would benefit the community.
Ewing-Jarvie said Weston had never married nor had children and his closest surviving relatives lived in Australia.
“I was told by another older fella here that he (Weston) just sort of hunkered down and got about getting things done.
“He was instrumental in getting the War Memorial Gates installed down at the rugby field, and he was one of those guys that was involved in everything, persistent and always very community-minded – the things he was persistent about were things for other people, never for himself.”
Ewing-Jarvie said Weston’s new memorial plaque would have his correct rank and acknowledgement of his gallantry medals.
“We talked about this inside the Remembrance Army, and we thought this would be a really good thing to put right,” he said.
Weston’s great-nephew Michael Weston in Melbourne said he nearly fell off his chair when he was first contacted by Ewing-Jarvie, as he had been researching his great-uncle who he had “vague” memories of meeting in his childhood.
“We all feel very proud of him, and think it’s a very good thing that they’re doing over in New Zealand … they’re still looking after the old diggers (soldiers),” he said.
Weston said he wasn’t able to travel to Havelock for Saturday’s service, but would be taking possession of the old memorial plaque when it was returned to Australia.
The ceremony would be attended by representatives of Ngāti Kuia, the Australian High Commission’s assistant defence attaché, volunteers from the Remembrance Army, Mayor Nadine Taylor, and members of the public, starting at 10.15am.
The following photographs were taken at the ceremony
Following the Twenty-Second 