Brian Hobson has been researching the history of Buckaroo soldier John (Jack) Robert Wright since he found his original service documents among old newspapers and magazines he bought at a Mudgee garage sale more than eight years ago. 

“I didn’t see them at first because they were in an old suitcase full of rubbish from an old house that had been demolished,” Mr Hobson said. “It was the rock and roll papers that caught my eye.” 

When Mr Hobson examined the contents of the suitcase, he was astounded to find documents signed by General Birdwood, Commander of the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) in WWI,  and Lieutenant Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for  War.  An elaborate document sent by order of King George V confirmed the promotion of John Robert Wright to the rank of Second Lieutenant. 

The discovery sent Mr Hobson to the Australian War Memorial, where staff directed him to WWI records on the memorial’s website. 

He discovered that John Wright had enlisted in 1914 with the 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment, the first mounted formation committed by Australia to  World War I. 

He served at Gallipoli and in Egypt, the Sinai and Palestine, earning mentions in despatches and a recommendation for a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). 

He was killed in action in the third Battle of Gaza on November 3, 1917 at Tel Khuweilfeh in Palestine, five days after he was promoted to the rank of Second-Lieutenant. 

Mr Hobson then turned to the Mudgee Historical Society in the hope of finding a photograph.  

“I went into the museum in Mudgee to ask about J.R. Wright and the man at the desk said ‘Do you mean this bloke?’ and held up two photographs,” Mr Hobson said.  “He had been researching it and had just taken the photos out when I walked in.” 

In another stroke of luck, Mr Hobson, browsing in a secondhand book shop, flipped through a history of the Royal NSW Lancers and found a mention of the newly promoted Second Lieutenant J.R. Wright’s involvement in an attack on Tel el Saba in Palestine, including a “daring reconnaissance of the enemy’s position in Wady Saba”. 

An appeal from the Mudgee Guardian for a photograph of J.R. Wright, whose letters were published in the Guardian during World War I, brought Mr Hobson to the office with his discoveries. 

In the Mudgee Guardian letters, Jack Wright wrote of his experiences in Gallipoli, time in hospital in Malta, and a charge in 1917 in which two horses were shot from beneath him – including the horse that he had brought from Australia. 

The letters added to the picture Mr Hobson had formed of the young soldier.

“From the reports about him, he was a very good soldier, quite a strong fellow, and I think he knew what he wanted,” he said. 

“He certainly could ride a horse. A lot of young fellows who enlisted were farmers who were used to horses.

“I think John Wright was a worker and couldn’t sit about idly.” 

Mr Hobson has also found mentions of “young Jack Wright” in letters from other Mudgee soldiers. 

In a letter from near El Arish in 1916, Snow Ryan comments on a recent battle: “There was a good few from round the Mudgee district fell. I think Jack Wright and I are the only ones left from that way”.  

Mr Hobson said the discovery of Jack Wright’s records was the result of a string of lucky coincidences, starting when the suitcase was saved rather dumped when the old house was demolished

However, it is not Mr Hobson’s only notable find. 

At another garage sale he found a photograph of a battlefield near Ypres. From a name and date on the back, and a family portrait in the same lot, he discovered it belonged to Fr Cecil Loneragan, a local Catholic priest who served in France. 

Experts at the Australian War Memorial recognised the photograph as the work of the renowned Antarctic and World War I photographer Frank Hurley.   

The photograph is now part of the Australian War Memorial collection.  

Mr Hobson said too often,  historically important items end up on the tip because the owner or finder does not realise their significance. 

Thanks to the sharp eye of Mr Hobson and a soldier’s long-forgotten letters, the image, story and words of one dashing Light Horse officer will live on. 

This is the first in a series of articles to mark the Anzac Centenary on April 25.   

Residents who would like to share stories of their family members who served can email Robyn Murray  at robyn.murray@fairfaxmedia.com.au or phone 6372 1455. 

Fairfax Media is also inviting local residents to contribute to a national  “Faces of Anzac”  tribute, which will pay homage to Anzacs from every community across Australia.  To contribute, visit www.mudgeeguardian.com.au ​and click on The Faces of Anzacs link. Submissions can be accepted until Friday, March 27.