Search This Blog

Sunday 12 May 2013

Remembering 'the mothers of Ryde' who lost their boys in WWI


This Mother's Day we think of all the mothers, grandmothers, wives, aunts and sisters who lost their boys during the battles of World War I.
Many would have expressed the same sentiment as Elizabeth Nelson, (mother of Henry Oscar Nelson, of previous posts) when she wrote to the Army in March 1917, following the information that her son, Henry had been reported missing since the action at Fromelles in July 1916.

“Our poor lad may be suffering from an injury to the head or shell shock, and may have forgotten who he is.  We all have the feeling that he is not dead.”
Sadly, a few days later she received a letter from the Red Cross confirming that Henry had died.

Elizabeth Nelson was not alone, many mothers across the district and the country were receiving the same news. Another, the mother of  Arthur Ernest Tipp, currently being research by our project....

It was the 5th May 1918, when a Court of Enquiry declared that Arthur Ernest Tipp, No. 5099, 20th Battalion, the only son of William and Alice Tipp of Ryde, previously listed as missing, had been killed in action in Belgium on the 9 October 1917. [Arthur’s story will appear soon].

And more pictures from Kim Phillips' travels ....
where she recently visited the memorial at  V.C.CORNER, FROMELLES and left a poppy beside Henry Oscar Nelson's name.
 
V.C.CORNER, FROMELLES
Photo: Kim Phillips,  May 2013
 
Photo: Kim Phillips,  May 2013


No comments:

Post a Comment