By BARRY ABLEY
EAST Geelong’s Storrer St is only a short throughfare, situated between Bourke Cres and Fitzroy St, but it represents a significant part of Geelong’s Anzac history.
It honours three members of the Storrer family who served in World War I, two of whom never returned.
Captain Henry Haigh Storrer was the eldest son of Henry and Margaret Storrer. He enlisted on 1 October 1916, having applied for a commission in the Australian Flying Corps, and trained at Point Cook.
Henry Storrer arrived in England on 28 December, spending the next seven months training in advanced flying, gunnery, navigation and wireless operation. But on 2 December 1917 his RE8 biplane crashed in strong wind during an artillery spotting flight, killing Capt Storrer and the plane’s observer.
His brother, Sergeant Charles Murray Storrer, served three years in the 29th Light Horse Militia before the war, so when he enlisted on 18 August 1914 his horsemanship earned him assignment to the 4th Light Horse Regiment and promotion to sergeant two weeks later.
Sgt Storrer’s regiment landed in May1915 without its horses to reinforce the infantry battalions already ashore.
On 5 June 1915 a Turkish shell penetrated Sgt Storrer’s bunker during breakfast. He died of his wounds two hours later, aged 20.
Sister Jessie Pringle Storrer, a cousin of Henry and Charles Storrer, trained as a nurse at Geelong Hospital before enlisting in the Australian Army Nursing Service on 18 July 1917.
She nursed in India, Rangoon, Burma and West Bengal, receiving British War medal and Victory medals for her services.
