A FAMILY MEMORIAL LOCATED IN SYDNEY
How's this for a serendipitous find? While wandering through an old churchyard, my wife warned me that the ground was a bit dippy and, lo and behold, there was a memorial tablet in white marble, about A3 size, formed like an open book, folding into the earth, commemorating two women: a grandmother, an aunt and their fallen soldier grandson/nephew: Sgt Fred Warner. The soldier-boy was of the 47th Battallion, AIF, KIA 11 April 1917 at the First Battle of Bullecourt.
This was of particular interest to me since at the time of Bullecourt, my great maternal uncle, Harold Snape, was FOO for the 46th Bty. (After his Commission as 2nd Lieut, in July 1918, he was posted to the 47th Artillery Battery, only to be gassed at Fricourt Wood 15/16 August 1918, near Albert, and die in hospital from the effects of mustard gas on 19 August 1918 at Rouen).
It is possible that Harold knew Sgt. Fred Warner, but I haven't time to scan through his 80,000 word field diary. He doesn't mention Warner's death on the 11th April 1917, but couldn't have known until after the battle which he had been
observing from his OP. Still, it's quite a coincidence.
This is the first private memorial I've ever seen.
St Stephen's Anglican Church churchyard is in Church Street, Newtown, Sydney. It is quite a big cemetery. It's pretty overgrown with convict era graves from 1811, etc. The plaque is in an
overgrown lawn lane-way about 100 yards west of a massive old banyan
tree that grows near the church. It marks a family grave-plot and
nicely includes his name and details. The ground is definitely
subsiding at the spot.
It would be very interesting to find out a little more about Sgt Warner. I wonder if the local RSL, etc, know of this man's memorial?
Submitted 31 March 2015
by Walter J R Barber
