Searching for a grave

Recently my husband joined Billion Graves, a project established to photograph and transcribe headstones in cemeteries throughout the world. If you register with the project you might choose to use the app available from the website to systematically take photographs of graves in a cemetery and upload them to the site, choose to transcribe headstones at grave sites or, when a request is made about a particular grave not in the database, visit the cemetery and upload a photo of the required grave to the website. Through worldwide community participation it is hoped to create a useful resource for family history researchers who are unable to visit all the cemeteries where their ancestors may be buried.

Anyone can search the database. Searching the online database is easy. Choose either the Person Lookup or Cemetery Lookup option. If looking for a person type in the Last Name of the person and usually the first name, and use the filters - country and state for Australia. Then click the Search button.

A list of names is provided.

If the person you want appears in the list, click on the link to view the information and view the image of the grave. If you cannot locate the name you can use the Make a Request button to suggest that an image of the grave site be added to the list.

My husband received an email request to photograph a grave at Box Hill Cemetery so on Saturday we set out to locate the grave and test the app that he had downloaded to his phone. The day before our expedition I used the website of Box Hill Cemetery to find the location of the grave. The Find a Grave or Memorial button on the front page of the website took me to the search box where I entered the details for Walter Buxton.

We then had the details of Walter Henry Buxton who was buried at Box Hill Cemetery on 22 December 1947. His grave was P-042-0004. A link to a map was also provided.

The map showed that Walter's grave was located in the Presbyterian section and the area where the grave could be located was circled.

The Section Location and Grave Location were also provided, including the names of graves near Walter's Grave.

Armed with the map we set out on our expedition. We parked at Whitehorse Reserve, where a cricket match was about to start, and then walked across the railway footbridge to the cemetery. If you happen to be accompanied by a two year old, the railway footbridge provides the opportunity to watch the trains (or toot toots) travelling to and from Box Hill at frequent intervals. Once in the cemetery we located Third Avenue and without too much difficulty found the grave. My husband took several photos of the site with his phone and I took took some with my camera as a back-up. We also made a transcription. Back home, my husband logged in to the website and uploaded the clearest image which is now online.

Clicking on the photo provides a larger image. Family members can then login and provide additional information.

Billion Graves is one of a number of online collaborative projects that should assist family history researchers. There is no charge to search and view the content of the site but additional features are available such as no ads, global mapping, a virtual walk-through etc if you wish to subscribe.

Collingwood Tully - breaking down a brick wall

When sorting through a pile of papers to put into folders I rediscovered a family tree for the Tully family that had been prepared by another family member many years ago.

Part of the Tully family tree

Louisa Lord (1833-1866) was a daughter of Simeon Lord (1810-1892) whose father, also Simeon, had come to Australia as a convict in 1791. Louisa was born in Tasmania and on 16 August 1860 she married William Alcock Tully (1830-1905).  William was born in Dublin, Ireland and after completing a BA at Trinity College he came to Tasmania in 1852 where he worked as a surveyor in the Survey Department until 1863 when he and his family transferred to Queensland. William Alcock Tully eventually became Surveyor General of Queensland. Louisa and William had three children - Collingwood (b. 1861), Kate Alexandra Mary Tully (1863-1935) and Louisa Blanche Tully (1865-1866). Louisa died on 26 February 1866, two months before her daughter, Louisa Blanche died on 11 April.

I had investigated this part of the family before but although Collingwood is an unusual first name I had never been able to find information about him. I decided to give it another go. The 'went to America' was a clue and as we now have access to American records in our copy of Ancestry.com I did a search, but without success. The comment 'no good' was also interesting. It would help if I knew who had prepared the tree to determine what this judgement might really mean. There was a similar comment for another person on the tree.

First the name, Collingwood. A note on the family tree stated that William's father was a Captain Tully who had served with Admiral Collingwood. The website of the Royal Navy Museum provides a biography of Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood (1748-1810) who succeeded Lord Nelson as Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1805. I have not been able to locate information about Captain Tully in the Navy except that the Griffiths Valuations 1853 enter the letters RN after his name. When searching for our Collingwood Tully I also found another Collingwood Tully, around the same age in the UK, so the name might have been part of the family naming pattern in the nineteenth century.

What happened to Collingwood? We know that he was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 18 September 1861 and that he would have moved with his parents to Queensland in 1863. The family was living at Holmedale, Milton in 1865 and 1866 when his younger sister was born and died. I could find out nothing else about him until I came across, in Trove, a report of a court case concerning the dissolution of the partnership of the Lord Bros in 1925 (Courier Mail 23 May 1925). Among the names mentioned as beneficiaries of the wills of AP Lord and Simeon Lord was a Collingwood Herbert Tully. Locating this second name was essential to uncovering the story of Collingwood Tully.

Back to Ancesty.com for a search for Collingwood Herbert Tully in America. No success with Collingwood but the name Herbert C Tully kept appearing in US Census records.

Sources for Collingwood Tully in Ancestry.com

This Herbert C Tully was born in Australia. In fact the 1920 Census gives place of birth as Tasmania, Australia. The birth place for his father and mother were given as Ireland and Australia, except for one year when his mother's birth place was given as England. The dates for year of birth also indicated that this was almost certainly Collingwood Tully.

From the census foms we learn that he arrived in the USA in 1885 when he was 24 - why he left Australia we do not know - and he was naturalised as a US citizen in 1917. When the 1900 census was taken he was living as a border at Dayton Illinois where he was a farmer. In 1910 his address was Washington, Indiana and he had a wife, Mary, and two daughters, Wilma and Mary. Checking the marriage records for Indiana showed that on 21 November 1900 Mary E Esworthy married Herbert C Tully. In 1910 his occupation was still connected with farming while in 1920 it was connected to the rail road shop. Unfortunately the writing in both these sections is unclear. In 1930 Collingwood was listed as retired. In 1920 the family was living at 60 North Dearborn Street, Indianapolis.The Indianapolis City directories confirm that the family was living at this address in the 1930s and early 1940s.

Herbert C Tully died in Indianapolis in August 1943 and was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery (Plot: Sec: 60, Lot: 488) on 10 August 1943.

So, once I discovered that Collingwood Tully had a second name which he used in preference to his first name plus the information that he had left Australia for the United States, it was possible to uncover at least part of the story of Collingwood Herbert Tully.

Battle of Bannockburn part 2

For those interested in this part of Scotland's history, SBS is showing a two part BBC series - The Quest for Bannockburn. Through archaeological research, early accounts of the battle from the Scots and the English  plus re-enactments the program attempts to establish where the battle took place as well as details of the battle itself which took place 700 years ago.

The first part of this program was shown on SBS on Sunday 4 January and can be viewed on SBS On Demand until 18 January. The second part will be shown next Sunday, 11 January, on SBS at 7.30 pm.

This was one of several programs made to commemorate the Battle of Bannockburn between the Scots and the English on 23 and 24 June 1314.

52 Ancestors 2015 - Week 2 - King - Royalty in the family

The theme in the 52 Ancestors 2015 challenge for week 2 is King. A number of suggestions are provided as possibilities for the blog post including do you have a connection to royalty?

Searching through some of my grandmother's papers relating to the history of her family, I found a copy of a letter written to her by a cousin providing information about the Hutton family, including a possible link to Robert the Bruce, James II of Scotland and Edward III of England. He was paying a genealogist in the UK to do some research for him. This was long before personal computers where much of the research can be done from home. In a letter written to another family member he noted, in passing, that there could be family connections to Alfred the Great.

In January 2012 I decided to test these theories. Methodically working back through the Hutton family tree I was able to establish some of the links. Two posts in this blog provide an outline of the research - Connection to royalty? and Royalty - King Robert II of Scotland. The grandfather of Robert II was Robert I, also known as Robert the Bruce.

In June, on the day marking the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, I decided to continue the hunt for connections to royalty in the family. This time the search did lead to Edward III as had been suggested by my grandmother's cousin. However I decided to take the search back further through the Plantagenet family ending with William the Conqueror. This was written up in the blog post, Royalty connections continued.

The Plantagenet's, of course, were French and the blog posts, the French connection and French connection part 2, show some of the links to members of the ruling families in France including French royalty.

Following the ancestral path of William the Conqueror leads to Rollo, the leader of the Vikings who came to Normandy six generations earlier.

Following the ancestral path of Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror, leads back to Alfred the Great and the Anglo Saxons.

I have found no connection to James II of Scotland however James I of Scotland married Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. Joan was the grand-daughter of Edward III of England.

Due to the intermarriage between the royal families of Europe you can have a lot of fun following back the family lines - male and female. On one line I traced back to Charlemagne (742-814). I suspect that, given time, I may find some other surprises.

Exploring the history of these families and their interconnections helps in the understanding of the history and the politics of the times. Thousands of people throughout the world can trace their families to royal links. It does, however add an additional layer of entertainment to family history research.

52 Ancestors 2015 - Week 1 - Fresh start - My Family Convicts

 Fresh start is the first theme in the 52 Ancestors 2015 challenge. One of the suggestions is to write about an ancestor or ancestors who had a fresh start.

In Australia, having convicts in the family is akin to a badge of honour. Transportation to Australia began in 1787 with the First Fleet arriving in January 1788. The final transport of convicts arrived in Western Australia in 1868. Consequently many Australian families have convict origins.

With twelve convicts in my family I guess that it could be argued that they all had a fresh start when they came to Australia, even though the conditions on the long trip from England to Australia would have been horrendous and, when they arrived in Sydney Cove, the settlement in which they were to spend the rest of their lives had to be established from scratch.

One of the first things that stands out when comparing the lives of my convicts was how young they were. Of the seven male convicts one was 17, two were aged 18 and one 19, while the other three were 23, 29 and  30 when they were arrested. Of the five female convicts, when they were arrested, one was 15, one 16 and one 18, while the other two were 25 and 26.

I only know the occupations of some of my family convicts before they were arrested, however the information that I do have, plus the information about their crimes as listed on surviving court and convict documents, suggest that most of them were representative of the many people displaced by the agricultural and industrial revolutions occurring in the United Kingdom at end of eighteenth century.

George (18) and Kezia (18) were listed as being labourers, Susannah (26) was a servant and Uriah (18) was a glass cutter. Simeon's parents had been involved in weaving cloth on a farm at Todmorden but his mother had died when he was 15 and his father died the following year. Three years later Simeon (19) was arrested in Manchester for stealing cloth. Uriah (18) and Richard (23) were also arrested for stealing cloth, Kezia (18), Mary H (16) and Jane (25) for stealing clothes and William (30) was arrested for stealing yarn. George (18) stole 10 pigs and a horse (a capital offence) while Charles (17) stole a saddle. Mary B was a 15 year old prostitute who was arrested after a client discovered his watch was missing. In 1798 John (29) was a participant in the Irish rebellion while Susannah (26) was arrested for perjury when she accused her employer, the local schoolmaster, of being the father of her son. Kezia (18) and Mary H (16) stole clothes from their employers.

It was normal for young children to be employed as cheap labour. From the trial transcripts we know that Uriah was living with his father in London when, at the age of 12, he started learning to be a glass cutter. However in 1785, a tax introduced on the employment of maid servants older than 15 resulted in many young women being dismissed. For many girls, the only option for earning a living was prostitution. Other factors affecting opportunities for employment included the end of the American War of Independence when much of the British Army was disbanded resulting in more men looking for work. This also further reduced employment opportunities for women. 

Two of the convicts were married and had children when they were arrested. William (30) and his wife, Mary, had two children. A third child was born after his arrest. Richard (23) had a wife and a new baby to support when he stole a parcel of cloth and two promissory notes from the back of a cart in the middle of the day. Was this an act of desperation or did he do it as a way of escape knowing that he would be transported?

Most of the crimes for which you could be sent to another country on the other side of the world for terms of seven years, fourteen years or life seem trivial today  - certainly the ones for which my convicts were tried and convicted - however the gaols were overcrowded and transportation seemed a valid option to the authorities. Establishing a British colony on the east coast of Australia before the French claimed the country was another incentive and a convict settlement was thought to be a practical way to do this.

All of my convicts had arrived in Australia by 1808, including two on the First Fleet (1778) and two on the Second Fleet (1791). Being transported to the other side of the world, where everything was so different from their previous life, must have been a shock to the convicts. Not only did they end up in a penal settlement but initially there was no housing or other buildings, roads or reliable water supply. Their survival depended on the stores brought with them on the ships and it was not known when the next ships would arrive. There was no need to fence the convicts in as there was nowhere for them to go. The vegetation was very different from home. The climate was different. The animals were different. Their new country was also inhabited by people who looked different and had a very different lifestyle. News from England would only be available the next time a ship came to the colony.  To survive they had to build the initial settlement providing shelter and also start planting crops, which may or may not grow, in the hope that the colony could become self sufficient.

After they had served their sentence many of the convicts had the opportunity to own and farm their own land, providing additional produce for the colony. Simeon, who could read and write, was assigned initially to a soldier who he assisted in his business ventures. Once free, Simeon pursued his own business opportunities. The convicts married other convicts or children of convicts and had children of their own. Generally they became involved in colonial life. Eight of my convicts ended up living in the area near the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales. Two of the convicts, George and Mary B, lived and worked on Norfolk Island until the close of the first settlement when they transferred to Tasmania. Simeon and his wife Mary H remained in Sydney where their house was reputed to be more impressive than the house of the Governor. They also owned and operated woollen mills at Botany where they later moved and Simeon owned several large properties of land. Most of my convicts eventually owned substantial landholdings and some, such as George had other business interest including owning the Seven Star Inn in Hobart. Uriah also owned a number of business interests including a bakery at Windsor.

The convicts faced many survival challenges when they came to Australia but it can certainly be argued that coming to this country provided them with the opportunity for a fresh start which they accepted.

The twelve convicts:
George Guest
William Roberts
Kezia Brown
Mary Bateman
Simeon Lord
Mary Hyde
Charles Daley
Susannah Alderson
Uriah Moses
Richard Holland
John Pendergast
Jane Williams

Genealogy Do-Over - interesting blog posts

On 15 December 2014 in his blog,  Geneabloggers, genealogist Thomas MacEntee announced that, from 2 January 2015, he was proposing a 13 week pause in his genealogy endeavours to review techniques and processes and start his research from scratch. Additional information about this proposal has caused a great deal on discussion, some of which can be viewed in the links below. He called the program Genealogy-Do-Over.

Website - Genealogy-Do-Over

Facebook -  Genealogy-Do-Over - (Need to apply to join this group)

Bag the web - Genealogy-Do-Over- (This is an excellent site to read the blog posts and comments re this project)

Genealogy-Do-Over - Week 1 - (Participants can receive email reports each week)

Since the announcement a number of bloggers have provided, often useful information, on research techniques, programs they use, methods for organising paper and digital files and ways they could improve their research. Below are just a few of the initial posts.

Key genealogy categories for tackling your goals - AnceStories

Embracing my mistakes - Why I am participating in the Genealogy-Do-Over in 2015 - Accidental Genealogist

Research logs - The Anglers Rest

Using One Note for genealogy - For your family story

Tessa Keogh - You Tube for genealogy

Genealogy-Do-Over Week 1- Piney Woods & Prairie Winds

A Genealogy-Do-Over - my thoughts - Keogh Corner

5th blogiversary - reflections and goals - Family history across the seas

My Genealogy-Do-Over - Tracing my roots: who do I think I am?

Genealogy record keeping - Loveless & Lovelace family

It should be interesting to read the information provided and the ensuing discussion.

If nothing else, it should encourage many doing their family history to stop and think about how they are carrying out their research; if necessary, review their family trees (in some cases start again) and learn how to carefully read original documents.

Reflections on a busy year - what next?

On Australia Day, January 2014, I saw a post in Facebook about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge initiated by Amy Johnson Crow in her blog, No story too small. For many years I have been planning to write the stories of my ancestors for members of my family and anyone else who might be interested. Aiming to write one blog post a week about a family member forced me to be focused and, once I started, I found it a great project to undertake. I chose to write only about members of my immediate family, grandparents, great grandparents etc. Most of the posts were about family members who were born in Australia or came to Australia, with a couple of exceptions who remained in the UK. In undertaking this project I provided an outline of the life of the person - some posts were more detailed than others. For some of the blog posts I already had information on the blog relating to the family member or I added additional information in another blog post, with links of course. By the end of the challenge I had an overview of four or more generations on the many branches of my family tree. I was able to copy the information and images into a Word document to create a printed version for my mother who does not use computers. I have also made copies for my own reference and given my brother a cd with the pdf version so he can make copies for his family.

This, of course, is just the beginning. Working on the project showed areas where more research is required. It also showed a number of common themes within some of the stories which need further investigation and articles written. Putting the stories in the blog also means that I can select certain stories - members of one family branch for example - and expand and add to the stories as a separate project. Investigating brothers and sisters of direct family members is another project which I plan to work on this year in order to expand the family story. Researching the stories of other family members can sometimes provide a clue about a direct family member not available in regular sources. The major advantage in undertaking the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is that I have at last started collecting and writing the stories of my family.

During the past few week I have read a number of Facebook and blog posts about projects that genealogists plan to undertake to further their research and improve or revise their research strategies. One such project is the Genealogy-Do-Over initiated by Thomas MacEntee, an American genealogist.Thomas MacEntee recommends that he, and others who want to do so, should put aside their past genealogy research and start again. During the first thirteen weeks of the new year he is going to make suggestions as to how genealogists can work smarter, especially in organising and undertaking research in 2015, using the many new tools that were not available to researchers twenty, thirty or even forty years ago. A Facebook page has been set up for those wishing to undertake the project and it has been interesting to watch the many suggestions and questions from people as to how they may work differently. Recent blog posts have been concerned with establishing goals, file naming protocol, software for genealogy, especially for recording and evaluating sources, and backing up databases and files.

Thomas MacEntee on the Geneabloggers blog (29 December) though provides useful advice for researchers, including those who want to undertake his project, - slow down and think clearly about what needs to be done and how it should done before undertaking any research. His argument is that many genealogists rush to follow a lead, become side-tracked and may miss important information. His Genealogy Do-Over program aims to encourage genealogists to plan their proposed research, determine how the information is to be recorded and remain focused on the one piece of research - not become side tracked by other possible discoveries.

A post on the blog, Worldwide Genealogy, also provides good advice for those of us who have been undertaking family history research for many years. In the post, My three Years of Genealogy Research, Pauline Cass reminds us that we should periodically revisit, record and revise our research.  These views are re-enforced by Jill Ball in her GeniAus blog.

Amy Johnson Crow has also expanded her 52 Ancestor challenge for another year but this time there are weekly themes people my choose to use when writing their posts.

So what are my broad plans for family history research 2015?

Publishing stories

• Extend my research to extended family members and write some of their stories broadening my understanding of the families
• Research and write the background stories or themes relating to the history of my family
• Consider writing brief posts in the 52 Ancestor 2015 Challenge 

Organisation

• Re-organise the many articles and files of paper based information I have collected over the past 50 years and put them in an order where they can be more easily consulted
• Make a list of the family history related books I have, including their main topics, so that I can more easily consult them and not spend time checking the shelves for information I think I have somewhere in books
• Check the organisation of my computer files ensuring that they are in a logical order and that images and articles have not escaped into the wrong folders.
• Synchronise my Ancestry.co.au  trees with Family Tree Maker more frequently
• Investigate more thoroughly how to use  the features of Family Tree Maker
• Back up my computer records more frequently
• Revise sections of the family tree to ensure that sources have been recorded and check the accuracy of the information 
• Investigate computer programs such as Evidentia as a means of organising and recording sources, Evernote etc, which are regularly mentioned, and decide whether I need to use them

Communication

• Continue to monitor the family history information made available via social media
• Continue to communicate with others with similar interests in family history in general, including techniques in family history research, or specific family branches

The above are not in any order and may be included in the over-all plan to be more systematic and organised than perhaps I have been previously. Most of the points in the Organisation section in the above list I am sort of doing - I just need to establish strategies so I can do them more efficiently.

With the growing amount of information now available, including more resources becoming accessible online, it is increasingly important to focus on specific aspects of research and do a thorough job rather than just collecting bits and pieces, no matter how interesting they may be. However it is also important to remember why you are doing the research and also to enjoy it.

52 Ancestors #52 Kenneth Campbell Moses

Ken aged 5 - Future journalist

Kenneth Campbell Moses was born in Sydney, New South Wales on 4 September 1918. He was the younger son of Henry John (Reginald) Moses (1889-1936) and Agnes Campbell Thom (1891-1974).

The family lived at a number of locations including Turramuarra, Milsons Point and Killara before moving to 69 Wood Street, Manly, in 1933. Ken attended Chatswood Intermediate High School. The move to Manly no doubt suited the teenager who joined the Manly Lifesaving Club. As well as swimming and surfing he also played rugby and supported the Manly Rugby League club. Ken's interest in sport is shown in the following paragraph in the Referee 18 January 1934.

KEN MOSES 'The Little Boy from Manly,' aged 15, 5ft 10 in in height, and 12st 5lb in weight, has been vacillating in his choice of golf or swimming as a sport on which to give his serious attention. Maybe, swimming will win, for he won the 220 yards swimming handicap at the Manly carnival on Saturday, beating a big field of youngsters who never saw his heels for spray. A disinterested outsider, however, might suggest that in view of his bulk wrestling would be more in his line.

Ken left school when he was 16 and initially worked as a junior at an advertising agency, O'Brien Publicity Company, earning 15/- a week. However Ken wanted to go bush and twelve months after leaving school he was on the train for the two day trip to Morven in south west Queensland to work on a property owned by  R J (Dick) Boyer. Dick Boyer and Ken's father had been friends from their time together at the University of Sydney. A paragraph in the Australian Women's Weekly 30 November 1935 page 4 confirmed that Ken was working on a property in western Queensland at that time.  He was employed as a jackaroo on Durella and worked there for about three years. Before he left Sydney his father arranged for Ken to meet a literary acquaintance - Banjo Patterson - so he could receive advice about what it was really like living in the bush.

What happened after Ken left Durella is a little confusing. I have a photograph, dated 1938, of Ken at the Manly Life Saving Club Ball held in the Hotel Manly Ballroom. A note on the back of the photograph states that he 'had travelled from Thurloo Downs, 220 miles west of Bourke, leaving Thursday morning, arriving Sydney Saturday morning having travelled 720 miles for Ball Saturday night, left for Forbes 240 miles following night for Uah shearing.' Unfortunately I do not know when in 1938 the Ball was held however I have been able to locate the two properties mentioned via a Google search. An article about Ken in the Chadstone Progress (28 October 1981)  states that when war broke out 'he was working on 1.25 million acres 200 miles west of Bourke'. This was probably Thurloo Downs. We also know that sometime between leaving Durella and enlisting in the Army  Ken worked as a wool scouer at the Bourke Wool Scour.

Once again it is through sport that we can confirm that he was in the Bourke region for a time. Ken was a member of the Bourke Amateur Swimming Club and the Western Herald 24 November 1939 reported that he would be a member of a relay team at the next carnival. He must have been in the Bourke area prior to March as the Western Herald 10 March 1939 reported that Ken was participating in aquatic events in Bourke.

At the Carnival last Sunday Mr. Bill Cowderoy introduced "Mergathroyd Physizalwhacker" who won all the diving events at "the Olympic Games in 1066." This distinguished person (Ken Moses) amused the vast audience with a series of fancy diving never before seen in Bourke — or any where. His turn met with great applause, and his fancy dress was "something out of the box". Congratulations Ken!

I suspect that much of the employment on stations was seasonal and that men went from one property to another as required, hence the reference to leaving 'for Forbes 240 miles following night for Uah shearing.'

Ken with his mother

 Shortly after war broke our in September 1939 Ken, now 21, applied to enlist in the Air Force but as there was a long waiting list he joined the Army instead. He was 21 when he and a mate travelled to Sydney to enlist in the Army. His Attestation Form and Service and Casualty Form show that Ken passed the medical examination for the Army at Victoria Barracks on 2 January 1940 and from 3 January he was stationed at the Army Camp at Ingleburn as part of the 2/4th Battalion. The following day, in full uniform, the soldiers marched through the streets of Sydney. There was little time to say goodbye to family and friends for on 10 January, only a week after joining the Army, members of the 2/4th Battalion were aboard the Strathnaver on their way to Palestine where they arrived on 13 February 1940.

The next nine months were spent training. The 2/4th was an Infantry Battalion but the soldiers also had training with an anti-aircraft regiment. On 9 November 1940 members of the 2/4th Battalion were transferred to Egypt and were initially stationed at a camp near Alexandria before moving to Mersa Matuh. In January 1941 they fought against the Italian soldiers at Bardia before moving on to Tobruk and later to Benghazi arriving as the Italian soldiers surrendered the city.

Ken did not go to Greece on 1 April 1941 with the rest of the 2/4th Battalion as he was in hospital with bronchitis. However later that month when the decision was made to evacuate the troops from Greece, Ken was aboard the Costa Rica, one of the evacuation ships. Loaded with troops, the Costa Rica was one of four Allied ships that were bombed and sank during the evacuation. The men from the Costa Rica managed to board other ships and were taken to Crete. When the Germans began bombing Crete the soldiers were evacuated from the island aboard a number of ships. Ken was aboard the Dido which although bombed by the Germans managed to reach port safely. The 2/4th Battalion then returned to camps in Palestine and Syria where they experienced a white Christmas.

In Palestine on 12 January 1942 members of the 2/4th Battalion embarked on the ship, Rajula, to return to Australia arriving in Adelaide on 27 March. After a period of leave the members of the battalion were sent to Darwin and from there to New Guinea, however the war was over for Ken as his health had deteriorated - he now had chronic asthma - and on 22 June he received a medical certificate stating that he was unfit for service in the army and was officially discharged on 16 September 1942.

Back in Australia, Ken returned to Bourke for a time before working as an overseer on another property in the Morven area, Victoria Downs. It was there that he met his future wife. However working in the outback affected his health and the decision was made (reluctantly) to return to Sydney and have a career change.

In 1944, Ken was offered a position as a trainee journalist on the Daily Telegraph. His first by-line was covering a story in the Blue Mountains where, as the picture on the left shows, his bush experience was an advantage. In 1945 he then spent a year in Canberra working at Parliament House in the Press Gallery. In 1946 he moved to Melbourne to work on the Sun News Pictorial as a sports writer. In 1948 he went to London to cover the Olympic Games and in 1950 he was in Auckland covering the Empire (now Commonwealth) Games.

Ken joined the staff of The Argus newspaper in May 1950 and was a sports writer and columnist on the paper until its closure in January 1957. Although he was interested in all sport, Ken wrote primarily about athletics, swimming, cycling and tennis. He also wrote a column, Why Keep it Quiet, in which he was renowned for expressing his opinion about the management of sport. Many of his articles were picked up by Australian Associated Press. In 1956 Ken was a member of the Press and Publicity Sub-committee for the organision of the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

When The Argus closed life changed again with Ken working in a variety of jobs, all related to journalism. These included twelve months at The Sporting Globe, Victorian manager of Rodney H Evans Advertising Agency, public relations manager for AMF ten pin bowling (when 10 pin bowling was introduced into Victoria), deputy news editor of Channel O -now Channel 10 - (when Channel O first opened) and editor of the short lived revival of Smith's Weekly. When Sunday newspapers began in Melbourne Ken worked on the Weekender and then the Sunday Observer. He also worked as a free-lance journalist for a time, worked on the journal of the Institution of Engineers Australia then finally worked at the Department of Trade. Ken was an active member of the Victorian branch of the Australian Journalist Association and was on the committee for a number of years. He also helped write books including White over Green which is the history of the 2/4th Battalion and My World on Wheels, the autobiography of Russell Mockeridge. Ken was assisting Max Rowley write the book, The Rowleys: golden years of cycling, when he died. When the book was published in 1990 it was dedicated to Bert and Eileen Rowley, Keith Rowley and Ken Moses.

At St Phillip's Church in Sydney on 11 February 1946, Ken married Rosemary Ann Lord. After a two week holiday on Phillip Island, staying at the Phillip Island Hotel at Cowes, they then moved to Melbourne to live. They had two daughters and one son. Initially they lived in rented accommodation until purchasing, with the aid of War Service Home Loan, a newly built house in East Bentleigh. The family moved to East Bentleigh in May 1955. With family in Queensland and New South Wales, the summer holidays were spent visiting those states.

Ken loved Australia, especially its history. He loved to travel and saw much of the country when working or on holiday. Many of the pieces that he wrote for the weekend newspapers featured places he had visited in Australia. In later years he also spent time working on the family tree. He was so pleased when he discovered that the convict, Uriah Moses, was his great grandfather. After Ken died we discovered another seven convicts on his family tree. He would have been so pleased with this discovery, especially as one of the convicts, William Roberts, was a First Fleet convict.

When visiting family in Queensland, Ken became ill and died in Brisbane on 16 September 1984.

Being a New South Welshman through and through, Ken always said that he felt much better once he had crossed the Murray River and was back in New South Wales. However when he was in hospital in Brisbane all he wanted was to return home to Melbourne. The funeral service was held in Brisbane and being far from home most of Ken's many friends were unable to attend. However, as he was an ex-serviceman, the RSL arranged for members of a local RSL to attend the funeral and the Last Post was played. This was greatly appreciated by Ken's family. Ken's ashes were returned home and interred at the Springvale Cemetery in Victoria.

Ken Moses was my father.

Recognition of Diggers in country towns

During the Second World War, and immediately after it, servicemen who were home on leave or who had been discharged from the services were invited to, and included in, community events as the following articles found in Trove show.

First Anniversary of Club House 

Banquet, Speeches, Songs, and Music 

Upwards of sixty persons attended the banquet in commemoration of the first Anniversary of the Club House of the Bourke Bowling Club, on Thursday evening, August 13th, at 7.30 p.m.

In addition to members of the local Club, visitors were present from other towns and also members of the fighting forces in uniform.

The tables were nicely arranged in the large Club room and attractively decorated overhead with colored streamers. An excellent menu was arranged by the caterer, Mr. J. Maroulis, and a willing band of assistants helped at the table.

Mr. H. Kessey proposed "The members of the Fighting Forces." The speaker dealt with Japan's preparedness for the past 20 years and their intention to make Australia a Jap. colony. With the assistance of America and Allies Japan would be smashed for all time. He was proud to have members of the American forces present and said the bonds of friendship made would live forever. Also present were Privates M. White, Kendall and K. Moses, Bourke boys who had returned from overseas. The Australian returned men were seasoned soldiers and the man hood of this country had fought on every battle front in this war. He extended a hearty welcome to the returned boys and hoped their leave would fit them for the hard fight to come. In Bourke the V.D.C., Fire Fighting Squad, N.E.S.; and other patriotic associations were doing good work.

Mr. S. Coleman supported the toast.

Private A. Davis responded on behalf of the Fighting Forces and hoped that it would not be long before they were having a victory dinner.

Sgt. Morse (of the American party) also briefly replied, and thanked the Club for their hospitality.

Sgt. Parsons proposed the toast of 'General MacArthur.'

Mr. Hales proposed 'Our Visitors,' and extended a hearty welcome to the visitors; including our American cousins.

Mr. C. Bowen responded. He said the industrialists and their leaders were whole-heartedly behind the Government in their war effort. He wished the Club every success.

'The Press' was proposed by Mr. L. Rice, and replied to by Mr. A. Carmichael ("Western Herald.")

'The Caterer' was given by Mr. Heel and acknowledged by Mr. J. Maroulis.

'The Chairman' by Mr C. Skinner, was responded to by Mr. J. Duggan.

"Auld Lang Syne," "God Save the King," and "The Star Spangled Banner" concluded the dinner, and a conversational ensued for some time.

Orchestral numbers were played at intervals during the evening, and accompaniment to Community items by the following : J. Elder, J. Law (piano), T. D'Arcy (violin), L. Carmichael (Saxophone), and R. Doran (drums).

During the proceedings two recitations were given by Mr. J. Luffman, viz "How He Died," and "Gallipoli."
Mr. Harold Rice sang two songs "Fu the Nu" and "Old Apple Tree" (parody). Mr. A. Honeyman gave "Susie."

Mr. J. Elder contributed ''The Sergeant Major's on Parade," and Privates Moses, White and Kendall gave a character sketch song "Bless, them all" Mr. T. D'Arcy played violin solos. Members of the U.S.A. army contributed company songs.
Western Mail 21 August 1942

COMMEMORATION AT MORVEN

At sunrise the Union Jack and Australian flags were hoisted to half mast and remained there all day. At 10.30 a.m. a procession of State School children marched to the Soldiers' Memorial headed by children of returned soldiers and those of the present forces (in the form of a cross) bearing the school tribute, a larger wreath of laurel leaves finished with a spray of scarlet poppies, tied with navy blue and white ribbon (the school colours), and showing the word "Anzac" in gold lettering. All scholars carried a sprig of laurel to place on the Memorial. The ceremony of laying on of wreaths commenced at 10.50 a.m., the first wreath to be placed was the Honour Board Trustees, by Mr. S. V. Capel (soldier trustee. and president of Anzac Day Commemoration Committee). Following were Diggers, by Mr. R. G. Cumming (president Morven sub-branch R.S.S.A.I.L.A.), Anzac Day Commemoration Committee, Mrs W Mc Laughlin (hon. secretary); Church of England, Mrs. H. A. Douglas; Presbyterian Church. Mrs. L. Robertson; Methodist Church, Mrs. W. R. Smith; Roman Catholic Church, Mrs. G. W. Alliott; State School Committee, teachers and scholars, Master Desmond Schmidt, after which each scholar marched to shrine at foot of Roll and placed a sprig of laurel thereon; Q.C.W.A., Morven branch, Mrs. W. McLaughlin, president-secretary; B.N.A., Morven branch. Mrs. S. V. Capel; A.C.F.,- Morven branch, Mr. R. G. Cumming, president; Morven Fighting Forces Farewell Committee, Mr. M. Smith, president. Many private tributes followed.

After the ceremony of "laying on of wreaths" the names of the fallen of the 1914-18 war, and those of the present one were read, followed by one minute's silence, then the singing of the recessional hymn "Lest We Forget." Next came the repeating of the Lord's Prayer by all, that being followed by the hymn "O God Our Help in Ages Past."

Addresses we're, given by Messrs. H. J. Newitt (who kindly conducted the service in the absence of clergy owing to Easter Day), G. Taylor and K. Moses (returned 2nd A.I.F.)

The addresses were most appropriate and well delivered, each speaker stressing the spirit of Anzac as an example for us all to follow.

The address of Mr. Ken Moses was very stirring and inspiring. He gave a mental picture of the terrible odds our boys were up against early in the war in Crete, Greece, and the Middle East, owing to lack of proper equipment, and pleaded that we do and sacrifice all if need be to send aeroplanes, guns, and all equipment necessary. These sons of Anzacs have the same Anzac spirit of their fathers, and will win through if we back them up. What could be more discouraging to them, that while willing to sacrifice all, they hear of strikes holding back the help they need so badly.

The hymn "Nearer My God to Thee" was sung, followed by the National Anthem, which closed the ceremony at the Memorial.

The Honour Board Rest House was artistically and appropriately decorated, and the Honour Board brightly polished. This service, with the making of the 11 laurel wreaths for the public bodies and churches was given by a hand of the members of the local C.W.A., many of whom are members of the Anzac Committee. The Honour Board after the ceremony presented a striking spectacle, of which the town and district must well be proud, and should truly be able to say the " spirit of Anzac" lives.

At 1 p.m. the Country Women's Association entertained 13 returned men and one member of the Land Army at a dinner at which more speeches were delivered by tho president-secretary (Mrs. E. S. D Mc Laughlin), Mr. Cumming, and Mr. S. V. Capel.

Mr. O'Brien spoke on behalf of the visitors, ably supported by Miss Menzies, of the Women's Land Army.

Community singing was indulged in after the dinner, and the National Anthem brought a successful function to a close.

Cheers were given for His Majesty the King and Royal family, all the fighting services and our great allies.

The Anzac Day Commemoration Committee thank all who in anyway helped to make this Anzac Day what it proved to be-a more enthusiastic and better Anzac Day than ever before.
Charleville Times 30 April 1943

Bourke and District Patriotic Fund

During World War II the service men and women received support from their communities throughout Australia as is shown through the following selections from the Western Herald published in Bourke, New South Wales. Patriotic Associations had been in existence since the Boer War and Patriotic Associations or Patriotic Funds were active in maintaining a link between the Diggers overseas and home. Fundraising was undertaken to present a gift to soldiers going overseas and gifts were also despatched overseas to the soldiers from time to time.

Roll of Honour

LIST OF RECRUITS.

Below we give a list of recruits from Bourke and district as complete as we are able to report. Should relatives or friends know of any further enlistments will they kindly supply the names to the Town Clerk.
The following have already left Australia : — Corp. J. W. Barron. D. Haigh. C. Hunter, K. C. Moses. Corp. J. P.Perooz.
A list of 121 names(including the five names above) of men who had applied to enlist from Bourke and surrounding area is provided. Three  men who applied were not accepted.
Western Herald 28 June 1940

BOURKE & DISTRICT PATRIOTIC FUND 

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR

At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Bourke Patriotic Association, the following Report on the activities of the Association for the year was read: —
Gentlemen.— I wish to submit a report of the years working of the Bourke Patriotic Association. The year has been a busy one for this Committee, in giving send-offs to Soldiers and generally working for the benefit of our Diggers.

So far presentations numbering 45 have been made and in nearly all cases a function has been held and have been successful, and I am sure appreciated by the Diggers and their friends. Canteen Orders numbering 93 have been despatched and when names and addresses of other members of our local boys are received orders will be also sent.

One great difficulty still exists, it is not until the last moment that we are aware of recruits being despatched on Active Service, consequently the function of the presentation is a hurried one. If friends or parents or relations of the Boys would only advise the Secretary before they arrive on final leave it would assist the work of this Committee very considerably. Under the circumstances I think we have done exceedingly well to cope with the matter. We have to thank the various bodies that have contributed so well to wards the funds, and also to the Knitting Group for issue of socks and woollen goods. Thanks is also due to the Orchestra of Mr. T. D'Arcy's for playing for the functions free of charge, and to Mr. Kessey for use of Hall, and to the Ladies under the control of Mrs. Permewan for attending to the suppers at the Hall.

Although funds are still in hand I am of the opinion that a function should be held shortly so that we may have money in hand for requirements. Seeing that nearly 250 recruits have enlisted, the task of keeping up to necessary requirements is going to be a problem, but with the liberal aid of the people of Bourke and district who are always ready to help I do not fear that we shall be short of funds. Mr. Higgins has made a very nice gesture intimating that he will give 1/- for each presentation that is made by the Committee.

The accounts for the year have been audited and found correct. The administrative expenses were kept down to zero. The recruiting account has been transferred to the Patriotic Funds and recruits that require assistance are helped from this fund. An effort was also made for the Great Britain Civilian War Funds, and £131/5/1 was sent to Sydney for disbursement.

The Lord Mayor's Fund has now been closed and all matters are dealt with by this body. A donation of £10 was recently made towards the funds of the Womens All Canteen Association, who do great work in helping the boys and providing refreshment at the Central Station, in Sydney.

In the matter of salvage, this was taken in hand by a Committee consisting of Messrs Heads and Permewan, and one load of old material has been despatched. There should, be plenty more in the district, and supplies can be sent to the Council Waterworks for safe custody. I desire to place on record my appreciation of the support of the Committee during the years working. It has been a pleasure to work with you gentle men.
I wish to finally conclude by expressing the thanks of this Association to the Secretary, Mr. Heel who has worked very hard in carrying out the stupendous task of the organisation of the many functions of the Association. Thanks is also due to his Assistant, Mr. O'Mara, for the valued assistance that he has always rendered. Yours faithfully, S. C. COLEMAN, President.
Western Herald 18 April 1941

ON ACTIVE SERVICE 

NEWS FROM BOURKE BOYS. 

Many thanks for your canteen orders which arrived by air mail a few days ago. I can assure you they were very much appreciated by me and put to good use. I have seen quite a few of the Bourke boys since I have been over here. Stan, Douglas and Laurie Snell were in the machine gun company which supported us in Greece and Bob Cunningham was the driver of the truck which drove us to the transport. We are resting ever since we evacuated Crete. Kind regards to all Bourke and district.—
Pte, K. C. Moses.
Western Herald 26 September 1941

ON ACTIVE SERVICE 

NEWS FROM BOURKE BOYS.

Pte. K. C. Moses writes as follows to the Patriotic Association: "I would like to thank you and the Patriotic Association for the excellent parcel and cake I received a few days ago. I can assure you that both of these gifts were warmly appreciated by myself, not only for their practical use, but for the spirit in which they are sent. You and your fellow workers are doing a great job in keeping these comforts up to us, and I know you would be rewarded for your troubles if you could only see the eagerness in which your parcels are opened. At the moment I am doing a freeze up in Syria, we had a fall of about six inches of snow last night which is now in the process of thawing out, with the result that all the boys are togged up in full army issue, plus many extra woolen articles of their own. The way the sky looks tonight, I think we are in for another fall, so on form up- to-date, it looks as if we are in for a real English Xmas."
Western Herald 9 January 1942

ON ACTIVE SERVICE 

NEWS FROM BOURKE BOYS. 

During the past week a number of Bourke boys have been home on leave, including a few who saw Service overseas. Amongst the latter were -Driver E. A. Holland, Pte. A E Boyd, Pte. Ken Moses and Pte. J. Tully. All these were welcomed by the Patriotic Association and presented with canteen orders.
Western Herald 29 May 1942