Her great-uncle Robert Macgregor Gillespie was 23-years-old in 1915 when he arrived at Anzac Cove. For 64 years his family did not know how or where he died. 

“My great uncle was killed at the landing, but his parents never knew what happened to him,” Ms Gillespie said.

In June 1915 the family received letters from the Red Cross and AIF war records office saying Robert was missing. For 18-months back and forth letters provided little answers for the family who had a million questions.

“The family was advised in June 1915 that he was reported missing but they didn’t really know (where he was) until about 12 months later when his ID disc was found,” Ms Gillespie said.

“They were informed that basically he had died.” 

But with no body to bury and no answers on how and when their son died, Robert’s family endured a lifetime of pain.

“I can remember great-granny – she was 98 when she died. Even though she knew that Uncle Mac had died she never really believed it, and I think a lot of families were like that because they never had a body,” Ms Gillespie said. 

Ms Gillespie’s great grandmother always wore a mourning locket engraved with her son’s initials – now worn by her great grand-daughter.

“That was her connection to her son.” 

In 1979 Robert’s brother finally received the information he had wated 64 years to hear. His brother had officially died at Anzac Cove on April 25, 1915. His grave was marked and he was finally re-interred at Lone Pine. 

Ms Gillespie was the first member of her family to visit Robert’s grave in 2015. 

“When I was there, 100 years later I found the area where he died and I was able to go to his grave,” Ms Gillespie said. 

“I sobbed, I sobbed and sobbed.

“I sat down and told him what had happened in the family over the past 100 years – about his brothers and the family he never got to know.” 

Ms Gillespie, who spoke at Buninyong’s RSL service, says her story is just one of thousands that must be remembered by future generations. 

“We are here to remember those that didn’t come back and those that did come back wounded in all sorts of ways.”