Axford Park is a small reserve in the suburb of Mount Hawthorn. It is named for soldier and local resident, Thomas Leslie ‘Jack’ Axford of 16 Infantry Battalion who was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions during the Battle of Hamel in 1918. This operation was directed by Australian General John Monash and was considered a ‘text-book’ victory which included the use of massed MKV tanks, a technique pioneered at Hamel. The Victoria Cross is the highest award in the British honours system and is granted for extraordinary valour ‘in the face of the enemy’.
