Next of Kin plaque : Captain W L Young, 45 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 LANCELOT YOUNG'. A checker's mark, '86', appears between the lion's back paw and tail. The back of the plaque is stamped with a 'W' within a circle, indicating manufacture by the Woolwich Arsenal.

Three bronze legs have been brazed to the back of the plaque so that it can be used as a stand (trivet) for a teapot.

William Lancelot Young was born at Dimboola,Victoria and was working as a warehouseman when he enlisted in the AIF in Sydney on 28 February 1915. After initial training he was assigned as a private with the service number 2504 to the reinforcements for the 13th Battalion, sailing from Sydney aboard the transport HMAT A9 Shropshire on 20 August.

After further training in Egypt he joined his battalion on 23 October, which was then resting on Mudros, and was immediately appointed temporary sergeant. The battalion returned to Gallipoli the following day. Young was confirmed as a sergeant on 3 December. Young returned with his battalion briefly to Mudros after the evacuation of the Anzac Area in December, arriving in Egypt at the beginning of January 1916. Young was appointed a second lieutenant on 24 February.

On 3 March Young transferred to the 45th Battalion, arriving with his new unit in France in June. Young was promoted to lieutenant on 16 June, shortly before the battalion took part in its first battle, at Pozieres. On 27 August Young was appointed a temporary captain. He was confirmed in this rank in November. Also in November Young was awarded a Military Cross in the field for gallantry in leading a night raid near Diependaal the previous month in addition to his conspicuous ability at Pozieres in August.

On 7 June 1917 the battalion took part in the battle of Messines. The start time for the action was delayed by two hours and the men waiting at Stinking Farm near the foot of the Messines ridge were heavily bombarded by German fire. Young was wounded at the time but elected to remain in command of his leading company. Later, as they moved along a road towards the ruins of Steignast Farm, his men met fierce resistance from German blockhouses in the farm. The second line company following him were stopped by a German field gun. Young, and all the officers in his company, together with all but two of his sergeants, was killed by machine gun fire. Their bodies were recovered two days later. In the three days of its engagement at Messines the 45th Battalion had suffered nearly 500 casualties.

William Young's body was reburied after the war in the Wytschaete Military Cemetery in Belgium. His father had died in January 1922 and this memorial plaque was sent to his younger brother, Neil Gibson Young, in December 1922.