'Bit of a miracle': Underground French city find sparks Warrnambool search

In fact, they joked about finding the name of their home city scrawled into the chalky walls somewhere, but couldn't believe it when they actually found WWI soldier Alex Cathcart's name inscribed above the name of his home city of Warrnambool.

His is one of about 3000 names of soldiers scratched into the walls of the dimly-lit three kilometres of underground tunnels at Naours near Amiens.

The discovery in September 2023 inspired Rene Draffen and her travel companions to begin researching the story behind the Warrnambool soldier.

"To find him was a bit of a miracle. I just thought his story must be told," she said.

"There's thousands of signatures underground and they've only just rediscovered them in recent years.

"The allies used it as a safe place to relax and for recreation."

The discovery also prompted the Graffiti Museum in Naours to contact the Warrnambool and District Historical Society for more information.

Even the group's tour guide - UK-based Steve Western of Back-Roads Touring - was so fascinated by the find that he began his own research, producing a 52-page document about what he uncovered.

"When we found the name, it pricked his interest and he decided to research him for us," Mrs Draffen said.

The soldiers' names - often referred to as graffiti - is one of the largest concentration of WWI inscriptions on the Western Front.

Dug into the limestone of the Picardy plateau, the tunnels 30 metres below the ground were used during the Thirty Years' War of 1618 to 1648 when villagers sheltered from armies crossing Northern France but was believed to be excavated in the third century.

As part of his detailed research into Mr Cathcart's war history, Mr Western found the Warrnambool soldier probably carved his name into the wall in November 1917.

Mrs Draffen said they didn't know much about his childhood, or his life after he returned home, but they hoped that by sharing his story they might be able to piece together more of his story.

Mr Cathcart was born at Mailors Flat in 1892 to James and Emily - the fifth of 11 children.

He attended the Mailors Flat Yarpturk state school - which no longer exists - but his name was included on the school's honour roll as well as one at Mailors Flat.

Cathcart's Ford, located between Winslow and Grasmere, is named after the family which farmed in the area.

It is unclear where he worked before he enlisted in 1915 but his army documents list his occupation as a factory hand.

He shipped out to Egypt in September of that year, and the following year the gunner was among the first Australians to arrive on the battlefields of France in March 1916.

But in October 1917 he was seriously wounded at Ypres. He was evacuated to England with shrapnel wounds to his chest and injuries to his arm. He was then sent back to Australia and discharged.

Newspapers reported his welcome home to Warrnambool with many of his relatives and the soldiers' reception committee turning out at the railway station to greet him.

Little is known of his movements after he returned to Warrnambool except that he married in 1924.

"It's a bit of a sad story for him," Mrs Draffen said.

His wife Evelyn passed away the year after they married, and Mr Cathcart died in Burwood in October 1931, aged just 39.

The decision to visit the battlefields of Europe - and Turkey - last year came after a family trip to South Australia where they came across a beach called Gallipolli where the Australian movie was filmed in the 1980s.

"We said 'this is as close to Gallipoli as we'll ever get'," Mrs Draffen said.

But it was the start of a discussion that turned into reality for her and fellow travellers Ann Body and her parents, Camperdown's Janet and Bob Wason, who were able to visit the graves of relatives lost in the world war conflicts.