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Friday, April 3, 2020

GeniAus - #AtoZChallenge - C is for Casualty

During April 2020 the month of this #AtoZChallenge I will be sharing short posts on some of the 2,000+ descendants I have identified of my 3x Great-Grandmother, Elizabeth Phipps

Elizabeth Phipps 1785-1869 was a convict who was transported from England to New South Wales in 1814 per Wanstead



We have twice travelled to Villers-Bretonneux Memorial and Cemetery in France to visit ancestors' memorial inscriptions. I didn't know until recently that there was also a commemoration there to my 2nd cousin twice removed, James Herbert Brydon.

Inscriptions on the Memorial Wall - Villers-Bretonneux - Photo Jill Ball

James Herbert Brydon is Elizabeth Phipps' Great-Grandson through her daughter Adelina's line.

 
James' journey to The Front started in August 1915.

1915 'Another Volunteer.', Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954), 12 August, p. 39. , viewed 31 Mar 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156941133
1915 'Dunedoo Volunteer Farewelled.', Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954), 26 August, p. 22. , viewed 31 Mar 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156937276
He enlisted in the AIF on 18th August 1915.  Following is the front page of James' full Service Record that can be accessed and downloaded from here: https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/145681

https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/145681
The AIF Project Site at https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=37386 provides a summary of James service. 

James death on the front was simply reported in local and state newspapers. It says much of the times that the passing of this young man received such little mention in the local press. I have not been able to locate an obituary for James in the local press. He was just one of many young Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice

1917 'Western Casualties.', Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954), 14 June, p. 25. , viewed 31 Mar 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article157112478
There is a simple memorial to James Herbert Brydon on the CWGC website.  


Source: https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1458575/brydon,-james-herbert/
James Herbert Brydon name is inscribed  on the walls at Villers-Bretonneux.

Villers-Bretonneux Memorial and Cemetery - Photo Jill Ball



I love to connect with cousins and fellow researchers. Should you find any errors in my post or have additional information please contact me. 

7 comments:

  1. One of the so many sad casualties of that terrible war, with the loss of such young men. But I found it so sad that his death was almost ignored in the local press. I lost three great uncles in the war and all had a brief but moving profile in the local newspapers - with details that I had not known before, such as 22 year old George Danson singing in the church choir. This so struck a chord with me, as choral singing was an interest of many of my family on both my mother’s and father’ side.












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  2. What an incredible memorial and how sad that James died young -- as did so many. You have suitably memorialized him in this post -- an excellent online substitute for the obituary he never received.

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  3. Thanks so much for your recent visit to my blog. Your visit to me enabled me to find you.

    Wow! To have discovered that many descendants of just one great-grandmother! You have certainly done a lot of work. I don't have that many descendants on my entire tree! (Yet anyway!)

    Your blog header is really cute!!

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  4. Thanks for dropping by everyone.

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  5. So much tragic loss to our young nation. Villers Brettoneux is one of the most moving places I’ve ever visited, especially on a cold and foggy November morning.

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  6. Pauleen, our first visit was on a windy January morning. Couldn't help thinking of those boys in trenches in those bitter conditions.

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  7. I always find these stories of our young men so sad. But for some reason when they are in your family tree it seems to make it even sadder. Thanks for the story. Jill Regina

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