So what is a Dead Man's Penny ?

In preparation for our recent event which returned Henry Oscar Nelson's Dead Man's Penny to his family, members of the Ryde Goes to War project team did some research on exact what is the Dead Man's Penny. [ See previous posts  for event details].

Officially named the World War I Memorial Plaque, it is a commemorative medallion or memorial plaque which was presented to the next-of-kin of the men and women who died during World War I. The plaques were designed and produced in Britain and issued to commemorate all those who died as a result of war service from within the British Commonwealth.

 

The idea for the plaques was originally conceived mid-way through the war. It was decided that the design of the plaque, about 5 inches (12 cm) in diameter and cast in bronze, was to be picked from submissions made in a public competition. There were over 800 entries. The winner, Mr E Carter Preston of Liverpool, England, was chosen in 1918 and was awarded a prize of £250. The plaques were manufactured in London. 

 

Elizabeth Nelson ( Henry's mother) of Parkes St Ryde signed a receipt

 for the Memorial Scroll and King’s Message for her son, Henry Oscar Nelson, on 1 November 1921

and for his Memorial Plaque ( the above Dead Man's Penny) on 9 August 1922.

 

The medallion features an image of Britannia surrounded by two dolphins (representing Britain’s sea power) and a lion (representing Britain) standing over a defeated eagle (symbolising Germany). Britannia is holding an oak spray with leaves and acorns above the rectangular tablet bearing the deceased’s name cast in raised letters. The name does not include the soldier’s rank, to show equality in sacrifice. Around the outer edge of the medallion are the words ‘He [she] died for freedom and honour’.

Production of the plaques, which was supposed to be financed by German reparation money, began in 1919 with approximately 1,150,000 issued. Unfortunately, the production and delivery of the plaques was not a complete success and the scheme ended before all the families or next-of-kin of the deceased received the official recognition they should have.

The first plaques were distributed in Australia in 1922. Each plaque was sent out by mail from Base Records Office at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne. Approximately 60,000 plaques were issued in Australia. There were some relatives who returned their pennies to the Australian Government in protest as they felt it was insulting and it did not replace their loved one’s life.

 A scroll of thick parchment was designed to accompany each of the plaques. Officially named the World War I Memorial Scroll. The scroll, headed by the royal coat-of-arms, bore the following message:

He whom this scroll commemorates was numbered among those who,

at the call of King and Country, left all that was dear to them,

endured hardness, faced danger,

and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice,

giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom.

Let those that come after see that his name is not forgotten.

 Underneath the message, the serviceman’s or servicewoman’s name, rank, honours and unit were written by hand in red ink.

Because of the late arrival of the plaques in Australia, many scrolls were sent out separately, with a message from the King (George V):

I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial

of a brave life given for others in the Great War.

Sources:

Australian War Memorial, http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/memorial_scroll/plaque/

Military History Online, http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwi/articles/deadmanspenny.aspx

National Museum of Australia, http://nma.gov.au/blogs/education/2010/11/14/dead-mans-penny/

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Plaque_(medallion)

 

More photos from last week's Dead Man's Penny handover

Ryde District Historical Society's President Janice Eastment, MC for the afternoon

The Wallumetta Room
 at City of Ryde Library
was the venue for our handover of Henry Oscar Nelson's Memorial plaque
on Saturday 16 March 2013.


Judy & Phil Display The Weekly Times story

A local newspaper, The Weekly Times reported the event in both the week prior

 and the following week

    http://www.weeklytimes.com.au/

 

 

 

 

We were also very pleased to welcome Chanel 10 reporter, Mazoe Ford and cameraman who joined us for the afternoon.

Chanel 10 aired Mazoe Ford's coverage of the event during the 5pm news on Monday18 March 2013 under the title "Lost and found'!

Margaret, Richard, Angela, Kim, Judy, & Janice with Ryde City Mayor, Ivan Petch

 

We were also very grateful to Judy for bringing along family photos, medals & memorabilia

 for both Henry Oscar Nelson and his brother Frederick Andrew Nelson

and allowing us to make a photographic record of them

 for our project.

Henry Oscar Nelson's 'Dead man's penny' finally back with the Nelson family!

Wow! what a great afternoon we had.

On Saturday 16th March many members of the Ryde District Historical Society gathered with the community and Henry's great niece, Judy for the hand-over of Henry Oscar Nelson's 'dead man's penny'.

Kim presents Judy with Henry Oscar Nelson's Memorial Plaque

The event was the result of  the "penny" having been found in a box purchased at a garage sale more than twenty years ago by Lynne Crawford in Bingara, (in northern New South Wales). Lynne asked her neighbour to help research the owner of the plaque, and when it was discovered that Henry's address at the time of enlistment was Ryde, Lynne’s neighbour and researcher Helen Cornish contacted Angela Phippen at Ryde Library in the hope of returning the plaque to Henry’s family.

After some research of her own Angela passed the information on the Ryde District Historical Society, who she knew were researching the World War 1 servicemen and women from the Ryde district. The Society did have Henry Oscar on our list and in fact we were already working on his family as we had identified him as one of the missing soldiers who died at Fromelles.

So by a wonderful series of coincidences the Ryde goes to War project Coordinator, Kim Phillips was able to make contact with Henry's great niece, who described it as 'amazing to have it in my hand' and she thanked Lynne from Bingara 'for her selfless act and for going to the trouble of returning it to the family.'

The event was followed by afternoon tea where ANZAC biscuits were the main fare!
 More picture to come soon!

Welcome back to 2013 - we have some exciting things happening!

Our working group met recently to catch up on everyone’s progress and problems over the Christmas break.

Our research is progressing well, but the exciting news that has been evolving behind the scenes, is that we are soon to have an event connected to one of our Ryde soldiers.

The following ‘ Media Release’  has just been released and is added here for you all to share.

Henry Oscar Nelson
No. 728

 30^th Battalion

Source: Nelson Family Collection

  

WWI memorabilia found at garage sale

returned to family of lost Fromelles serviceman,

on Saturday 16 March 2013, 2pm, Ryde Library

On 17 July 1915, 19 year old Ryde lad Henry Nelson, equipped with a letter from his parents giving their permission, enlisted for service in the AIF.

One year and two days later he was killed in action during what has been described as the worstnight in Australian history. More than 5,500 Australian soldiers were killed during 19–20 July 1916 at Fromelles.

In March 1917, his mother wrote to the Army, stating that “Our poor lad may be suffering from an injury to his head or shell shock, and may have forgotten who he is. We all have the feeling that he is not dead.”

Sadly, the Red Cross wrote to Henry’s family that same month, advising them that Henry’s name had appeared on a list, given to them by the Germans, of men that they had buried.

Henry’s body lay in a massed grave until recently when the grave was located at Pheasant Wood in the Fromelles area. Henry is now interred in the new CWGC Cemetery at Pheasant Wood.

In August 1922, Elizabeth Nelson, his mum, was sent Henry’s Memorial Plaque (also known as a 'dead man's penny') and Memorial Scroll.

Now, some 91 years later, the plaque was found by Lynne Crawford in Bingara, in a box bought from a garage sale some years earlier. Lynne’s neighbour and researcher Helen Cornish contacted Angela Phippen at Ryde Library in the hope of returning the plaque to Henry’s family.

Angela was able to put Lynne in touch with the Ryde District Historical Society, who, for the past two years, has been working on the Ryde Goes to War Project – a project aimed at identifying all people from Ryde who served in WW1. Through various contacts, and research undertaken, RDHS was able to contact Judy Hanlen, a great niece of Henry Nelson, and let her know that the plaque had been found.

Now, on Saturday 16 March 2013 at 2.00pm the plaque will be reunited with Henry’s family. You are invited to join us in a short function to be held in the Wallumetta Room, Ryde Library, 1 Pope Street, Ryde NSW 2112 (cnr Pope and Devlin Streets, within Top Ryde City Shopping Centre).

Coincidently the Ryde Historical Society, as part of its Ryde Goes to War Project has been looking to find the descendants of nine men from our district identified as possibly buried in the Pheasant Wood Cemetery, with the idea to assist in their DNA identification. Henry Nelson had already been identified as one of the men being researched. Efforts by his great niece Judy Hanlen to match DNA to identify him, have failed. The Society is pleased to be able to present the Memorial Plaque to Judy as a tangible link to her great uncle.

If you would like any additional information or details, or you plan on attending, please contact

RDHS on (02) 9807 7137 or email Ryde District Historical Society at

rydegoestowar@gmail.com

To assist with catering, please RSVP by 11 March 2013