A Coondle history buff who helped restore the grave of Victoria Cross recipient Hugo Throssell, is setting out to do the same for a lesser known Northam hero.
David Sims said he stumbled across the story of Northam man, Charles Hubbard in an act of fate.
“I think there’s a bunch of old soldiers up there like Throssell and my grandfather looking down on me thinking ‘I reckon he’s getting bored, I’ll give him something to do’,” Mr Sims said.
“I was in the library and I’d seen this book before and got it out.
“Right at the end of the book there was little stories and there was one about Charles Hubbard from Northam.
“I couldn’t believe it.”
Charles Hubbard was a New Zealand born miner living in Northam.
In March 1917 Hubbard enlisted as a private in the Australian Imperial Force at the age of 63, instead saying he was 44 as the cut off age to serve was 45.
Hubbard was part of the 16th Battalion who fought at the Western Front.
He was the oldest man on the battlefield and survived the war, although coming away paralised as the result of a gunshot to his back and neck.
Mr Sims said the striking characteristic about Hubbard was his age.
“At that time Charles would have known what he was getting himself into,” Mr Sims said.
“When everybody else was thinking about retirement he joined up to go away and fight for king and country.
“I just have this feeling that I was meant to do something about it.”
Upon discovering Hubbard’s story, Sims went to the Northam Cemetery where he cleaned up the grave site.
“I went up there the day after with a shovel and I’ve been onto the head of the Australian War Graves and they’re going to come up and re-do his grave which is good,” he said.
“I can’t go and do it to everyone’s graves but it is out of respect.
“I also want the Shire to continue to maintain the work I did.
“I don’t want to make Hubbard any more important than the other diggers but there was a story there.”
Mr Sims said as Hubbard was unmarried and only had a sister he has no one to carry on his memory.
“I don’t do it for pats on the back,” he said.
“It’s my passion.
“There’s no one to carry on his legacy apart from me.
“It’s a good story for the community to know.
“Every year on Armistice Day I’ll go up there and lay a poppy and if someone else does that would be great.”
