Mr and Mrs James Callaghan received the devastating news in mid-September 1918 that their eldest son Pte Leslie Walter James Callaghan had died of wounds in France.
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Les’ younger brothers Pte Stanley Callaghan and Pte Horace William John Callaghan had also paid the ultimate price of their service to their country when they were killed on the battlefields of the Somme.
Stanley was killed in action on November 18, 1916 and Horace in July 1917.
Many families were devastated by the news of the deaths of those young men who marched off to war in high spirits looking for that great adventure in those heady days of 1915 or who felt it was their duty to serve God, King and country.
The sadness that enveloped the community with the news of those wounded, missing or killed inactions in each edition of the Lithgow Mercury led to the instigation of the Soldier Memorial Committee of which Nurse Hutchison was the energetic secretary.
Mary James had married James Callaghan in 1885 and in keeping with social tradition of the times was referred to as Mrs J Callaghan in the local press.
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It was Mrs J Callaghan, mourning the death of two sons, who was asked to lay the foundation stone of the soldier’s memorial in the Lithgow Park in April 1917.
The monument to be erected was to be constructed solely from Australian stone, except for the statue which was to be cast in Italy.
Members of the community were invited to submit names for engraving on the memorial.
A month after receiving notice of her third son’s death in France, Mrs J Callaghan unveiled the Soldier’s Memorial.
For her and many others who might never be able to travel abroad, at last there was a place to mourn the loss of their loved ones.
