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Who were some of the ex-students from North Ryde PS who served in the Great War?
Who were some of the ex-students from North Ryde PS who served in the Great War?
Learning intention – We are learning to use empathetic understanding.
Success criteria – We can demonstrate empathetic understanding when recounting the contribution of a First World War soldier.
North Ryde Public School Honour Roll
North Ryde Public School Honour Roll
The Honour Roll of North Ryde Public School boasts 43 names of ex-students who served in the Great War. Eleven lost their lives.
Four of those young men are profiled here. These four had enlisted before Empire Day 1915 and all four fought at Gallipoli.
Note - when honour boards were erected after the First World War they were titled the 'Great War' as the second world war hadn't occurred then, rendering Great War to the First World War.
North Ryde Public School's Great War Honour Board of ex-students who served
2nd Lieutenant Leslie James Burley
2nd Lieutenant Leslie James Burley
Leslie grew up at ‘Glenrock’, Magdala Rd, North Ryde and attended North Ryde Public School. He spent four years as a Junior Cadet and two years as a Senior Cadet as 2nd Lieutenant and Captain.
'He was always a keen military enthusiast and held the rank of acting captain in the 18th Battalion of the Citizen Forces.' (Sydney Morning Herald, Mon 14 June 1915. On Trove)
He was employed as a clerk in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
After passing an exam he was appointed as 2nd Lieutenant of the 18th Infantry. He left Sydney on HMAT A49 ‘Seang Choon’ on 11th February 1915.
Leslie was wounded at the Dardanelles, Gallipoli on 19th May 1915 and was transported to the hospital ship SS Soudan in Suvla Bay. He died of his wounds on 20th May 1915 and was buried at sea.
Service record
Service record
3rd Battalion, Australian Infantry, AIF
Service Number 1280
Enlisted 16th January 1915 aged 22 years
Died of wounds at sea on 20th May, 1915 in Suvla Bay aged 23 years.
Leslie's letter from the front
Leslie's letter from the front
Getting used to shells
'I came ashore last Monday, 3rd, and since have been very busy. I have managed five hours sleep out of five days (3 hours out of 120) but still do not feel very sleepy, as the general excitement for the first few days makes one forget sleep. Our boys here are doing great work, and are making history for Australia.
Every morning the Turks shell our trenches, sometimes accounting for one or two, and sometimes missing altogether... I have had some narrow escapes but last night was the best of all. We were coming up the communication trench, when with a deafening roar a shrapnel burst within a few yards, throwing a host of bullets and pieces of shell forward. One piece about the size of my head embedded itself in the side of the trench not six inches above my back...
All my friends have been in the thick of it since April 25 and strange to say not one has been hit... I don't think our friends the enemy will ever frighten our boys. They treat it very much like a football rush when ordered forward, and then the enemy goes backward.'
Letter written by Lieutenant L J Burley to his parents at Ryde dated 8 May 1915 and published in the Evening News on Thurs 1 July 1915. On Trove.
Leslie James Burley Australian War Memorial. CC BY-NC 3.0 AU
Private Cyril Leslie Cawthorne
Private Cyril Leslie Cawthorne
Blue eyed Cyril grew up in Kulgoa Avenue, Ryde and attended North Ryde Public School. His family moved to Dooralong and then Dubbo where he worked with the Government surveyors as a surveyor’s chainman.
Cyril, with three others, enlisted at the Dubbo Recruiting Office and that night caught the evening train to Liverpool Military Training Camp (The Dubbo Liberal & Macquarie Advocate Tues 27 April 1915. On Trove.)
He left Sydney on 14 June 1915 for Alexandria and joined the unit at Gallipoli on 2nd August 1915. He was reported missing on 21st August 1915, just 19 days later.
Not knowing the fate of her son, Cyril’s mother appealed to the Australian Red Cross Information Bureau and they wrote that he was thought to have been caught in a shrub fire in the vicinity of Hill 971 at Gallipoli. They stated that as the Australians had bombs in their pockets most were killed with only four men of the 5th platoon surviving the charge.
Read the letters on Cyril's digitised service record at National Archives Australia.
A court of inquiry held at Serapeum, Egypt in April 1916 declared Cyril was killed in action.
Service record
Service record
13th Battalion, Australian Infantry, AIF
Service Number 2130
Enlisted 29th April 1915 aged 21 years
Missing (killed in action) on 21st August, 1915 at the Gallipoli Peninsula aged 22 years.
North Ryde Public School Great War Honour Board on the wall at the NSW Schoolhouse Museum of Public Education
Trooper Arthur Stewart Dean
Trooper Arthur Stewart Dean
Black haired Arthur grew up at ‘Gowen Brae’ Cox’s Road, North Ryde. He attended North Ryde Public School and was an orchardist by trade.
Arthur embarked from Sydney on the HMAT A16 Star of Victoria on 20th October 1914 and joined the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli on 9th May 1915. Due to the rugged mountainous terrain the lighthorse brigades were without their horses and fought on foot.
While he was working in a machine gun pit Arthur was hit by a bullet and killed instantly. An informant stated that he “exposed his head over the parapet and was hit” (Digitised service record, National Archives Australia) whereas another stated that a bullet came through the loophole of the gunpit (Australian War Memorial).
Service record
Service record
1st Australian Light Horse, AIF
Service Number 296
Enlisted 22nd August 1914 aged 22 years
Killed in action on 7th August 1915 at Pope’s Hill, Gallipoli Peninsula aged 23 years.
Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files 1914-18 War. Australian War Memorial. CC BY-NC 3.0 AU
Trooper Arthur Stewart DeanNSW Schoolhouse Museum of Public Education collection
Activity
Activity
Research a First World War soldier that is on your school's or community's honour board, or is a relative of your family.
Use the guides Research a Soldier by the Australian War Memorial or Research and Adopt a Veteran by the NSW Department of Education.
Once you have a name, the National Archives of Australia record search may have the person's service record digitised.
Create a profile page of your soldier using a similar format to the ones on this page.
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