Reflections on the passing of a WW1 veteran Anzac Day, 2024 This morning I attended the dawn service in Speers Point Park, a short walk from home. There were probably a thousand people there, as the familiar words were said, hymns were sung, and the … Continue reading A soldier’s life
Tag: ww1
A Mosman connection
My great grandparents, William and Alice Ross, and my great grandfather, Charles Holdorf (Holford), lived in Mosman, arguably one of the most beautiful suburbs of Sydney’s North Shore, for many years. They were my father’s grandparents, William and Alice the parents of his mother, and … Continue reading A Mosman connection
Anzac Day then and now
The camp at Tel-el-Kebir Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 in an ill-fated military operation intended to free the Dardanelles straits from Ottoman (Turkish) control in the First World War. The straits were of strategic importance as the sea … Continue reading Anzac Day then and now
William Byrne, trooper
My mother’s maternal grandparents were Irish. George and Susie Byrne came from Killarney, though not at the same time. Susie came first, when she was 16, with her parents and siblings, in 1877. George, who had known Susie in Ireland before her family left for … Continue reading William Byrne, trooper
866 Company in Dublin 1916-1919
A brief visit to Dublin I recently spent a few days in Dublin. It was my first trip to Ireland; I was there for the wedding of a friend from Australia, Simon More, who has made his home there. He and his wife Michelle were … Continue reading 866 Company in Dublin 1916-1919
Forgotten tales 