Aboriginal WWI Soldier ceremony in France

Private William Allan (Allen) Irwin DCM was an Aboriginal Australian soldier who served in the 33rd battalion in World War I. He was a Gomeroi man who made the ultimate sacrifice on August 31st, 1918 when he rushed three German machine gun nests, and was fatally wounded while charging a fourth. For this act of bravery, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

On April 18th, 2025 the Somme region of France will honour William Allen (Allan) Irwin DCM for his sacrifice by giving him the distinction of honorary citizen of the Somme. It is the first time a World War I soldier will receive this special honour.

Gomeroi man and the great nephew of William, Peter Milliken, will be there to accept the honour on behalf of William's family. However, due to the distance from Australia, the rest of William's family will not be able to make it.

Due to the importance of this ceremony, we would really like to record it for William's family and are seeking funds to help pay for travel costs for a filmmaker to travel to France to film it.

Your donation will go towards booking a flight ticket for our cinematographer ($3K) to fly to France for this special occasion.

Thank you

Dylan Nicholls

Documentary Filmmaker