Ryde's Australian Chinese lad who died during WWI - the 13th weekly tale

As the the 2015 Centenary of the Anzac landing draws closer The Northern District Times continues to publish our stories of World War One service from the Ryde District.

This story tells of the loss of Arthur Ernest Tipp. He was the only son of Australian Chinese parents,William and Alice Tipp. Arthur was born and lived in Ryde, NSW, but both his parents were born in Victoria and both descend from Chinese families who arrived at the time of the Victorian gold rushes. One grandfather was prominent Melbourne merchant, Lowe Meng Kong.

Arthur had embarked for the Western Front with the 13th Reinforcements of the 20th Battalion. in 1916. He was killed in action during October 1917 near Ypres, at Poelcapelle, Belgium.

For may years after his death his grieving parents annually placed 'In Memorium'  notices in the Sydney Morning Herald for their son and others from his battalion, and also for his best comrade Frank (Paddy) Hicks, who was also killed in May 1917.

Week 13 :  7 January 2015 - The Northern District Times, page 17 - the story of ARTHUR TIPP, Service No: 5099.

Chinese Australian dies for his country
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]

Our 8th story, Fredrick Gideon England, No.4107.

The 8th weekly Ryde Remembers story was published on 19 November 2014 in The Northern District Times. It is the story of  North Ryde lad, Fredrick Gideon England, who enlisted at age 18 in October 1915.

Fredrick lived with his family in Waterloo Road, North Ryde where they had a poultry farm and orchards. Today it is no longer a rural area on the north-west of Sydney, but part of the busy Macquarie Park suburb.

Fredrick embarked with the 10th reinforcements of the 20th Infantry Battalion,. While fighting on the Somme at Pozieres he was injured with gunshot wound to his back and fractured. vertebrae. He was transported to the 3rd London Hospital in England, in a serious condition but didn't survive. He is buried in the Australian Section of Wandsworth Cemetery, London.

The Week 8 :  19 November 2014 in The Northern District Times, page 29.
Digger's story leads to Pozieres heroism.
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]

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 5^th May 1918, when a Court of Enquiry declared that Arthur Ernest Tipp, No. 5099, 20^th 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