23/07/2026
As a family historian, I've often wondered whether some moments are simply coincidence or something a little more.
Watching the Channel 7 News coverage marking 110 years since the Battle of Pozières, I noticed something extraordinary. At approximately the 1:29 second mark, for just a fleeting second, a very familiar face appeared on the screen as the Channel 7 crew was filming the Pozières Memorial in France.
That familiar face was my cousin, Lieutenant Norman Leslie Weynand ("Normie"), 9th Battalion, AIF. - ANZAC Gallipoli Veteran.
What made that fleeting moment even more special was the timing. Normie was killed in action at Pozières on 23 July 1916—110 years ago today.
Today is also a day of dual remembrance within our family. It marks the birthday of Normie's baby sister, Mary Jane (23 July 1892 – 6 February 1894), who sadly died in infancy, and the birthday of his beloved cousin, Mary Jane (23 July 1901 – 9 June 2000), my Grandmother.
It is one of those quiet family connections that reminds me how generations remain intertwined. The bonds that connect our family are strong, carrying memories, love and remembrance across time.
Normie and his cousin Mary shared a special bond. Their letters crossed between Gallipoli and France, carrying cousin news, love and friendship across the ocean. She cherished those memories throughout her life and remembered him until she passed away just weeks before her 99th birthday.
It lasted only a second, yet it stopped me in my tracks.
To most viewers it would have been just another image within the story. To me, it was a reminder that behind every name engraved on a memorial was a real person, deeply loved by family and never forgotten.
Perhaps it was simply coincidence. Perhaps it was one of those unexpected moments that only descendants truly understand. Whatever it was, it reminded me why preserving our family stories matters.
Family history isn't just about researching the past. It's about preserving the people behind the names, so that every now and then, across more than a century, a single second can reconnect us with those who came before us.
Sometimes, one second is all it takes.
I hope, one day, you find your second.
If any members are interested in seeing the Channel 7 news story commemorating 110 years since the Battle of Pozières, you can watch it here: Marking 110 years -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDVix1NpK8c
