The Curlewis brothers – members of the 12th and 16th Battalions AIF at Anzac, Gallipoli
Making the ultimate sacrifice…
In 1914, four sons of George and Lilla Curlewis of Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia, went to war. Corporal George Curlewis, Lance Corporal Selwyn Curlewis and Captain Gordon Curlewis and all joined the 16th Battalion in October of that year. The fourth brother, Corporal Arthur Curlewis, joined the 12th Battalion. All four brothers landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.
- Lance Corporal Selwyn Curlewis, 16th Battalion AIF. [AWM H06123]
- Captain Gordon Curlewis, 16th Battalion. [AWM H06122]
- Corporal Arthur Curlewis, 12th Battalion AIF. [AWM H06121]
Selwyn Curlewis was killed at Quinn’s Post on the night of 2 May. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial. Captain Gordon Curlewis was killed, also at Quinn’s Post, on 9 May and was buried at Beach Cemetery. In August, Arthur Curlewis was wounded at Lone Pine and evacuated to Egypt, where he died on 15 August 1915. He was buried in the Chatby Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt. George Curlewis returned to Australia in November 1915.
The four brothers are commemorated on the honour board at the Brookton Lesser Hall, Brookton, Western Australia. Trees were also planted to the memory of the three brothers who died, in King’s Park, Perth.
You can read their records at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website - Debt of Honour Register.