It is a significant year for branches around Australia, marking a century since the final battles and the cessation of the First World War. 

As members gather together for the 100 years celebrations, there are still plans in place for new tributes this year. 

RSL sub-branch president Norman Richardson said he would like to see the local memorials for those who died amended to include more names of the fallen. 

It is believed a significant number of names are missing from the memorial list. 

“Of course, in those days, nothing was computerised and in some cases it was very difficult to keep track of those who went and did not return,” he said. 

“We (Portland) are not alone. Other sites have the same thing happening all the time.”

Problems arose, particularly in World War I, of people enlisting under different names and ages and being lost within the system. 

Portland’s Ian Burrett has been researching whose names were missing from the memorials in Lithgow and expanded his search to include Portland. 

Mr Richardson said, ideally, the new updated memorial would be completed by Anzac Day 2018. 

It is not only the names of the fallen that Mr Richardson fears has fallen through the cracks over time. 

The history of the founding of the Portland RSL itself is a mystery. 

“We don’t know who the original founders were. People have their suspicions but no one is able to say with certainty, it was so-and-so,” Mr Richardson said. 

He has been poring over old editions of the Portland Mercury and Lithgow Mercury newspapers but has not been able to find any mention of its origin in print. 

It appears, in its very early days, meeting were held in the scout hall next to Foodworks, which was likely built by the members themselves. 

“In those days, they would have called a working bee and everyone would have brought along their own tools and put it up themselves,” Mr Richardson said. 

As well as organising Anzac Day and Remembrance Day tributes to the fallen, Portland RSL has played its part in politics over the years. 

Mr Richardson found records of campaigns run by the RSL to have new, low-cost housing built in the area in the aftermath of World War II. Housing was at a premium at the time, with stories of landlords charging for “key money” as well as a deposit and first month’s rent up front. It was an arrangement that, for many of the Lithgow region’s tenants, was unaffordable. 

Alongside the Portland RSL sub-branch, there was a very active Women’s Auxiliary which operated from 1952 right into the early 2010’s.