Gladesville carpenter, Wallace Park was "a good and noble son".

Week 21 :  4 March 2015 - The Northern District Times, page 21 - the story of  Private WALLACE PARK, Service No. 2253.

Wallace was the son of well-known stonemason and builder James Park, He attended both Gladesville and North Ryde Public Schools before training as a carpenter under J.J. Dakin.

 In June 1915 he enlisted and arrived on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 6 August with the 6th Reinforcements of the 2nd Battalion. Two days later his status was listed as wounded in action during the Battle for Lone Pine. A Red Cross enquiry later updated his status to Killed in Action on August 8 1915.

His family's great sadness was turned into many memorials, the most well known being the Wallace Park Memorial Classroom at the Presbyterian Church of St Andrew in Gladesville, which was donated an built by his father and opened by his mother in May 1917.

Parks named after a Digger named Park
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]

Private Charles Norman Kenny of Ryde died on the Western Front in May 1917

Week 20 :  25 February 2015 - The Northern District Times, page 20 - the story of  Private Charles Norman Kenny, Service No. 4729.

Charles, a 24 year old clerk was the son of Charles and Ellen Kenny of Goodwin Street, Ryde. He enlisted in January 1916 and joined the 12th reinforcements of the 19th Battalion, He saw major battles in Ypres, Belgium, the Somme and the Second Battle of Bullecourt in France, before he received a fatal penetrating gun shot wound to the chest on the 3 May 1917.

 He was buried in Grevillers British Cemetery, France. His death was reported locally in the Cumberland Argus newspaper on May 26 1917.

Private Kenny's year of living dangerously
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]

Sydney University Professor James Pollock of Ryde, served to share his Physics expertise.

Week 19 :  18 February 2015 - The Northern District Times, page 19 - told the story of  Irish born, Sydney University Professor James Pollock, who had joined the AIF as a Captain in January 1916.
His expertise in physics saw him involved in many engineering schemes involving tunnelling and exploding mines both in the classroom and at the front line. He was later promoted to Major.

At the time Pollock was owner of the historic house The Hermitage, which had been built by John Blaxland (son of Blue Mountains explorer, Gregory Blaxland) in the 1840s.

Boffin played part in digging under Hill 60
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]

Poppies and ANZAC events in Ryde April 2015

Knitted poppies have been popping up across the country this year and Ryde is no exception with the City of Ryde's Ryde Remembers 2000 poppy project. More information on Council website here

Details of  Commemorate services to be held across the district can be found here 
including the City of Ryde Anzac Service, Friday 24 April 2015, 9.30-10.15am service,
Location: Ryde Cenotaph, Ryde Park, Blaxland Road, Ryde.
For more information, contact the City of Ryde Events Team  on link above.

We have also been asked to share the details of the Ryde Hospital ANZAC service.
The service will be held at 10am on April 24. It will be conducted at the Flag Pole next to Denistone House, Ryde Hospital, Denistone Road, Eastwood. Following the service will be a short presentation about the history of medical and nursing care at Ryde Hospital.
Denistone House will be open as a museum on April 24 and 27 from 10am - 2pm, the public are welcome to attend during these hours and enjoy a cup of tea and ANZAC biscuit.

Last Sunday was the final Poppy making day at Ryde Library and it was wonderful to see so much interest form all ages across the district and to know that more than the original anticipated 2000 poppies have been completed. In the past week the poppies have made a home on the large letters R Y D E at different library branches. Next week they should come back to the main Library at Ryde and also be at the City of Ryde Anzac Service on Friday 24 April 2015.

Ryde's 2000 Poppies letter Y on display at Ryde Library, Sunday 12 April 2015.

Emmeline and Elizabeth Murrell, the Ryde sisters who both joined the Australian Army Nursing Service

Week 18 :  11 February 2015 - The Northern District Times, page 17 - tells of Emmeline and Elizabeth Murrell, who both joined the Australian Army Nursing Service and continues from the previous week's article on their brother Henry George Murrell.

The large Murrell family lived in a house named Wonga on Victoria Road, Gladesville. Emmeline was 31 when she joined as a Staff Nurse in 1916. Elizabeth had nursed at Ryde's Home for the Incurables [later to become the Royal Rehab Centre, Sydney] and had been appointed Matron of Denistone House at Eastwood in May 1916 before she also enlisted in June 1917.

By the end of the war both had served until they were suffering from debilitating illnesses. For a glimpse of their story read :
Nursing sisters served until they also fell ill
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]

* as the newspaper link doesn't appear to open the complete article  it will be added here;

April 2015 Update

My apologies for the lack of Blogging in the last 5-6 weeks [I was away] and missed updating the link to the weekly Norther District Times stories, so they will be posted to catch you up over the next few days.

As for the Project it self we haven't stopped in in fact we have been very busy finalizing the format and checking our Ryde Goes to War 1914-1918 book which is now at the printers and will be launched in May 2015. More details to follow very soon...