They were two of eight known Aboriginal servicemen from the Orange area, and they were both killed in action.

Twenty-four year-old Charles was working as a labourer in Eugowra when he enlisted in March 1916.

He spent a month in camp at Bathurst before joining the 30th Battalion at Kiama in April 1916.

Private Gage embarked from Sydney in August that year, arriving in England in late September.

Gage joined the 56th Battalion in France in November 1916 and was killed just three weeks later. Details of his death are sketchy, and he has no known grave.

According to fellow soldier, Private Frank Reid, their unit was marching into the firing line on the night of December 3 when a shell burst and killed a number of men, Gage among them.

Charles’ older brother, Christopher, was living in Orange with his wife and their two young sons, when he enlisted in April 1916.

He spent two weeks at camp in Dubbo before joining the 54th Battalion at Bathurst. Gage embarked from Sydney in August 1916, and arrived in England in October.

He proceeded to France in December 1916, less than two weeks after Charles was killed there.

In April 1917 Christopher was promoted to Lance Corporal. On the night of September 24, his unit was moved into the front line trenches, where they remained until the morning of September 26, awaiting their orders. They came under fierce attack at 5.45am, and shelling continued all day.

The following morning, Gage and four of his comrades were found, having been struck by a shell that killed them all instantly.

Lieutenant JAS Mitchell wrote a letter of condolence to Gage’s widow, Violet, describing him as “a very popular man” who “died a game death”. Lance Corporal Gage’s name appears on the Patrician Brothers’ Roll of Honour and the Holy Trinity Church Honour Roll in Orange.

Violet and her sons, Noel and Walter, posted the following poem in Christopher’s death notice on page 5 of the Leader on September 27, 1917.

Killed in action, the cable said,

That is all the tale they tell

Of the soldier brave who loved us,

Of the one we loved so well.

How his life was spent, we know not,

What the last word, look or thought,

Only that he did his duty,

Died as bravely as he fought.