Next of kin plaque: Private William Dunstan, 23rd Battalion, AIF

Bronze next of kin plaque, showing on the obverse, Britannia holding a laurel wreath, the British lion, dolphins, a spray of oak leaves and the words 'HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR' around the edge. Beneath the main figures, the British lion defeats the German eagle. The initials 'ECP', for the designer Edward Carter Preston appear above the lion's right forepaw. A raised rectangle above the lion's head bears the name 'WILLIAM DUNSTAN'.

Born in Allandale, Victoria, William Dunstan was employed as a blacksmith in Ballarat, when he enlisted in the AIF on 12 October 1915. He had previously served in the cadets and with the 70th Infantry (Ballarat Regiment). After initial training he was posted as a private, service number 3812, to the 9th Reinforcements for the 23rd Battalion. He left Melbourne for overseas service aboard HMAT A69 Warilda in February 1916.

Dunstan joined his battalion in France in June and fought with them at Pozieres. He received a gun shot wound to his face at Flers in November 1916 but was able to rejoin his unit a month later. In March 1917 he was evacuated to England suffering from trench fever. He did not rejoin his unit until 14 August. Dunstan had just completed a course at a Stokes Mortar School and was returning to his battalion on the front line, during the third battle of Ypres, when he was killed instantly by a shell that hit him in daytime while he was crossing on duckboards at Chateau Wood, near Westhoek Ridge in Belgium. He was 21 years old. His body was not recovered for burial and his name is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres.

This plaque was sent to Dunstan's mother, Mary, in October 1922.