Who was A A Mitchell – that was the question? He appears on the War Memorial in Victoria Park as a returned soldier and has been a mystery. Albert Arthur Mitchell was the son of Henry and Sarah Mitchell. The family lived in Granville before moving to the Nyngan district. During WWI the family moved to ‘Westella’, Homestead Road Orchard Hills. A least 2 sons joined the AIF, George in 1915 and Bert in 1918. Bert left Australia in September 1918, fell ill, and was dropped off at Sierra Leone. He was then sent back to Australia! After the war, Bert went back to the country and lived on his property at Byrock. He died there in 1974.

Bert’s brother Clyde Mitchell was a well known employee of Penrith Council. His reminiscences of Penrith in the 1920s are an important source of local history.

Sources:

NSW BDM
National Archives of Australia
NLA Trove