MARK Snedden only got to meet his legendary great uncle Robert James Snedden once before he passed away.
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"I knew Uncle Bob was my pop Jack's older brother, went to World War I and was really good to my dad's family," said Mr Snedden, who is principal of Kotara High School.
"He was a person that people held in high esteem with good values, good morals, hard-working, loyal, but that's all I really knew."
What began last April as family research had transformed by September into an idea for his book Heeding The Call, From Barnsley to the Battlefront, about Robert, a miner who was the first Barnsley man to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force and who served on the Western Front.
"My respect for him is huge seeing his story but also understanding the man the war created," Mr Snedden said.
"He had his demons, as all men did who came back, but he was still very honourable, hard working - all those morals and values are so important. Unless we reflect upon them we lose them.
"Think about what we're going through now and people panic, and you turn that back to that era of person. Talk about isolation.
"Whether you're at home and waiting for your son to come home or you're in France being bombed, talk about isolation, pain and loss.
"These sorts of stories give us perspectives on our own lives as well."
The book combines interviews with relatives, Robert's war records, his battalion's diary, Newcastle Herald stories and postcards sent home. The CFMEU sponsored its publication.
Robert left Australia on October 30, 1915, after being farewelled at a Barnsley/Northville Patriotic Society event.
He was appointed to the 5th Pioneer Battalion, assigned to the 5th Division.
The battalion lay telephone cabling at Fromelles, constructed trenches at the Somme, opened up communication and supply lines on the Hindenburg Line and built trench tramways, before being drilled in fighting.
He was shot in the arm at Ypres.
Mr Snedden's relatives said Robert came back a different person and only shared select memories.
"How many more situations that happened on the Western Front did he reflect on, but were too painful to talk about?"
Nevertheless, Mr Snedden said building his understanding of Robert gave him a deeper insight into his own identity.
"The more you know about where you come from and your history, it does gives you strength and perspective on life," he said.
"You think 'Look what I'm dealing with today, but look what these people in my family dealt with 100 years ago. I've got nothing to whinge about'."
It also made "much more vivid" the conflict he studied and has taught students.
Mr Snedden said his research uncovered more questions that no relatives have been able to answer, including why Robert kept a framed map of Paris in his lounge room.
"That's the whole thing around family history - once they're gone they're gone and those questions can't be answered," he said.
"I urge young people to speak to their grandparents and older members of their family as often and as soon as they can."
He usually attends dawn services and will stand today in his driveway.
"Lots of people get caught up in other things, but Anzac Day is about quiet reflection and respect. It means a lot more now than it ever has."
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