W. F. Maher, Laverton
No one with the name and Initial "Maher W.F." appears on the WW1 Nominal Roll or Embarkation Roll.

Name on the Werribee Shire Oak Board is: "Maher, W.F."

The name "Maher, W., from Laverton" first appeared in the Roll of Honor, Werribee Shire Banner, 22 July 1915, p.3.

One reason to explain the name "W. F. Maher" appearing on the Shire Honour Board and in the Werribee Shire Banner’s Roll of Honor, is that he possibly applied to enlist in the A.I.F. and was rejected, or served within Australia for the duration of the Great War.  If that were the case, then no records of this type of service are currently available.

The editor of the Werribee Shire Banner inserted the following disclaimer under the first published list of servicemen’s names. "P.S. – The Editor will be pleased to receive notification of names not appearing in the above List. Some of the above have failed to pass the medical tests."
Werribee Shire Banner, 22 July 1915, p.3.

Men with the surname Maher, who enlisted in the A.I.F. prior to the 22 July 1915 date when W F Maher's name first appeared in the Werribee Shire Banner were:

• No. 45 - Maher, W., enlisted 22 January 1915 from Lismore and Fitzroy, Victoria (K) no NOK
• No. 236 - Maher W.A., enlisted 18 March 1915 from Brunswick, Victoria
• No. 68 - Maher W.D., enlisted 10 September 1914 from Bendigo, Victoria. Miner
• No. 2413 - Maher W.J., enlisted 28 May 1915 from Elmore, Victoria. Clerk (K)
• No. 1356 - Maher W.N., enlisted 29 August 1914 from Grenfell, New South Wales. Cordial Maker.

If the initials were reversed, then there was a "Francis William Maher", Number 3845, from Footscray, but he enlisted on 3 August 1915, which was after "W. F. Maher" first appeared in the Werribee Shire Banner.