Next of kin plaque: Private Charles Frank Finchley (real name Oliver), 57th 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 engraved name 'CHARLES FRANK FINCHLEY' (real name Oliver). The original embossed name, 'CHARLES FRANK OLIVER', has been officially ground down and renamed to Finchley.

Born in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1894, Charles Frank Oliver was employed as a labourer when he enlisted in the AIF on 21 August 1915, naming his widowed mother, Alice Alvina Oliver, as his next of kin. He had previously served as a private in the militia, in the 63rd Infantry (East Melbourne Regiment). Oliver was assigned as a sapper (service number 6548) to the 4th Reinforcements for the 5th Field Company Engineers. After basic training at Warrnambool he was sent to Liverpool near Sydney to complete specialised engineer training. On 10 February 1916, many men at the nearby Casula Camp rioted over conditions and training there and were quickly joined by men from adjoining camps. The incident, known as the Liverpool Riot or Mutiny, spread to central Sydney and was eventually quelled by civil and military police, after one of the rioters was shot and killed. Rather than face court martial and potential imprisonment a considerable number of men deserted. Alice Oliver later stated that she believed that this had been the case with her son Charles.

Returning to Victoria, Charles Oliver immediately adopted the surname Finchley (possibly a mishearing of his mother's maiden name, which was Hinchley) and tried to enlist again. This time, again according to his mother, he was rejected by his Medical Board. As a result Oliver/Finchley took up work as an agricultural labourer, working for a Mr Carnegie at Gisborne. Finchley enlisted successfully on 3 November 1916, noting on his enlistment form that he had previously been rejected on account of his physique (he was short and very slight). He again nominated Alice Oliver as his next of kin, but stated that she was his aunt.

After training in Melbourne Finchley was assigned as a private, service number 3151, to reinforcements for the 57th Battalion. He left Melbourne for overseas service on 16 December aboard HMAT A7 Medic and arrived in England in February 1917. After further training there Finchley joined his battalion in France at the end of May, and was posted to its D Company. The battalion remained in France training for the next three months, before moving to Belgium in mid-September, where its first major battle for the year took place at Polygon Wood. Finchley, however, together with members of C and D Companies had been temporarily attached to the 2nd Australian Division in early September as part of a cable burying party. Two men in the party were killed and fifteen wounded. One of the dead was Charles Finchley, who was mortally wounded on the night of 17 September, at Hellfire Corner, near Ypres. A witness stated that Finchley was returning from cable laying duty when he become detached from his party and had joined up with a party of sappers from his old unit, the 5th Field Company Engineers when a shell landed among them. Finchley was taken to Australian Advanced Dressing Station on the Menin Road but died upon arrival there. He is buried in the Menin Road South Military Cemetery.

Once news reached Finchley's 'aunt', Alice Oliver, she set about proving that he was actually her son, Charles Oliver, providing a statutory declaration, multiple documents, including photographs taken in uniform in 1915 and 1917, and samples of his handwriting. As a result the army accepted that he had been Charles Frank Oliver and changed their records.

This next of kin plaque arrived in Australia from England in 1922, with original raised lettering naming 'CHARLES FRANK OLIVER'. Army regulations, however, stated that if a man had enlisted and served under an alias, then this name would appear on any issued medals or plaques. Accordingly, the army noted that Oliver's plaque had been incorrectly embossed and arranged for the name to be ground off and the engraved name 'CHARLES FRANK FINCHLEY' substituted in its place, before it was finally issued to his mother in February 1923.