Vera Deakin, 1918. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.
- The Australian Red Cross Missing and Wounded Enquiry Bureau is established in Cairo by Vera Deakin, youngest daughter of former Prime Minister Alfred Deakin.The Bureau aimed to relieve the anxiety of anxious family and friends in Australia by investigating the fate of Australian service personnel who had who been posted as wounded or missing.Volunteers scoured official reports and took eye-witness accounts from soldiers in hospitals and camps to find out as much information as possible regarding a soldier’s fate. The Bureau’s replies to families often contained graphic descriptions and verbatim quotes from straight-talking soldiers. During the war the Bureau replied to 400,000 enquiries, resulting in the creation of approximately 32,000 individual case files. These files were digitised in 2002; to preserve the fragile original documents and to provide greater public access to this valuable and unique information. Vera Deakin was awarded an OBE in 1919 for her services as head of the Bureau.
- Bulgarian forces capture Veles in Serbia
