The
headstone in St James' Church at Jericho tell a rather sad story, of the
children of John and Ellen.
Nine
children, and only two of their sons married.
Almost all are buried in Jericho.
But
within the Bisdee Family grave, lays one of Australia's most highly decorated
soldiers.
His name
was John Hutton Bisdee
John and
Ellen's children
1.
Lucy
Maria Bisdee 1930
2.
Edith
Mary Bisdee 1856 1922
3.
Winchester
Munn Bisdee 1858 - 1934 m Dorinda Eva Wright
4.
Amy
Elizabeth Bisdee 1860 - 1891
5.
Bessie
Bisdee 1862 -
1927
6.
Reginald
Bisdee 1868 - 1902
7.
Harold
Bisdee 1869 -
1929
8.
John
Hutton Bisdee 1869 -
1930 m Georgina Hale
1866 - 1927
9.
Ellen
Ina Bisdee 1873 -
1929
Winchester Munn
Bisdee, who married Eva Dorinda Wright at St Paul's Church of England,
Glenorchy on 15 Jan 1883 and had children Athol (born 1885), Bernard (born
1886), Stephen (born 1888) and Dorothy (born 1889); lived at 'Tedworth',
'Llanberis' and 'Heston'. Harold, unmarried, lived at Melton Mowbray. Lucy and
Bessie both unmarried, Edith Mary, Reginald, E. Ina (born in 1878), Amy E. and
John Hutton Bisdee.
Military service
When Bisdee was 30 years old, and a
trooper with the
Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen during the
Second Boer War, the following
deeds took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On
1 September 1900 near Warm Bad, Transvaal, South Africa,
Trooper Bisdee was one of an advance scouting party passing through a narrow
gorge, when the enemy suddenly opened fire at close range and six out of the
party of eight were wounded, including two officers. The horse of one of the
wounded officers bolted and Trooper Bisdee dismounted, put the officer on his
own horse and took him out of range of the very heavy fire.
Bisdee returned to Tasmania in 1902, and
received the Victoria Cross from the
Governor during a review in
Hobart on 11 August 1902 to
mark the
coronation of King
Edward VII.
He later served as a
lieutenant colonel in the
First World War, where he was
awarded an
Officer of the Order
of the British Empire (OBE), as well
as being
Mentioned in Despatches.
He died on 14 January 1930 and was buried in
the St James Churchyard, Jericho, Tasmania. His Victoria Cross is on display at
the
Tasmanian Museum and
Art Gallery,
Hobart.
John Hutton Bisdee
(1869-1930), soldier and pastoralist, was born on 28 September 1869 at Hutton
Park, Melton Mowbray, Tasmania, eighth child of John Bisdee, pastoralist, and
his wife Ellen Jane, née Butler. His grandfather, John Bisdee, had arrived in the colony in 1821. He was educated
at The Hutchins School, Hobart, and then worked on his father's property until
April 1900 when he enlisted for service in the South African War as a trooper
in the 1st Tasmanian Imperial Bushmens' Contingent.
Bisdee sailed on 26
April and served in operations in Cape Colony, the Transvaal and the Orange
River Colony. On 1 September, near Warmbad, Transvaal, he was with a scouting
party ambushed by Boers in a rocky defile; six of its eight men were wounded,
including an officer whose horse broke away and bolted. Bisdee dismounted, put
the wounded man on his own horse and ran alongside, then mounted behind him and
withdrew under heavy fire. For this action he received the Victoria Cross—the
first awarded to a Tasmanian. Wounded during the ambush, he was invalided home
but, on recovering, went back to South Africa as a lieutenant in No.1 Company,
2nd Tasmanian Imperial Bushmens' Contingent, and served from March 1901 until
the end of the war.
After his return to
Tasmania Bisdee resumed farming at Hutton Park. On 11 April 1904, at St John's
Anglican Church, Hobart, he married Georgiana Theodosia, daughter of Bishop M. B. Hale. Two years later he joined the 12th Australian Light
Horse Regiment, Tasmanian Mounted Infantry, as a temporary lieutenant and was
promoted lieutenant in 1908 and captain in 1910; in that year he attended a
course of instruction in India. In August 1913 he became commanding officer of
his regiment, now the 26th Light Horse.
Bisdee joined the
Australian Imperial Force as a captain in the 12th Light Horse on 26 July 1915.
Accompanied by his wife, who was to do valuable work in the A.I.F. canteens, he
sailed for Egypt in November.
He served in
operations against the Senussi at Mersa Matruh until a leg wound precluded him
from active service; he was seconded as assistant provost marshal, first to
A.I.F. Headquarters, Egypt, in March 1916, then two months later to the Anzac
Mounted Division. Bisdee was promoted major in September, returned to
regimental duty in December and served with the Light Horse throughout 1917. In
January 1918 he became assistant provost marshal (Egypt section) of the Anzac
Provost Corps; in June he was confirmed as lieutenant-colonel. He was mentioned
in dispatches and appointed O.B.E. in June 1919.
Bisdee was
discharged from the A.I.F. in May 1920. A major in the Australian Military
Forces from 1915, he was placed on the reserve in 1921 and on the retired list,
with the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel, in 1929. He had continued to farm
at Ashburton, Bridgewater, in Tasmania, the property he had acquired in 1915.
While travelling in France in 1926 his wife died. He returned to Tasmania and
lived at Tranquility, Melton Mowbray, where he died of chronic nephritis on 14
January 1930; he and his sister (who died next day) were buried in St James's
churchyard, Jericho, in the same grave. The Bisdee Memorial Cadet Efficiency
Prize, awarded annually at St Virgil's College, Hobart, is named after him.
Select
Bibliography Australian Defence Department, Official
Records of the Australian Military Contingents to the War in South Africa,
P. L. Murray ed (Melb, 1912)
Egypt. 1919. Photograph of Lieutenant Colonel John Hutton Bisdee VC
OBE who was Assistant Provost Marshal, AIF, for the area.
Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), Wednesday 28
November 1900, page 5
TROOPER BISDEE. Writing to his friends under date October 7, Trooper J.
H. Bidee says:"There is one thing that you have heard, it appears, from
one of Captain Lewis's letters, which is a mistake, and I must hasten to
correct, and give honour to whom honour is due. It was young Adams who
performed the daring feat at Lindley. Lieutenant, Sale and I did, ride back to
look ,for Guy Wylly, who, although unhorsed, had managed to get away
unobserved. Sale noticed someone helping Frith on his horse, and thought it was
I, but I have since told him that not finding any traces of Wylly, I made off
at full speed."
Group portrait of
Trooper (Tpr) John Hutton Bisdee VC (standing seventh from left in uniform with
dog) and his family on Tpr Bisdee's return from South Africa. Tpr Bisdee,
Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen, was awarded the Victoria Cross on 1 September 1900
near Warm Bad, Transvaal.
He was a member of an advance scouting party who were
fired on by the enemy, killing six of the party of eight. Tpr Bisdee dismounted
his horse and placed a wounded officer in the saddle, running alongside until
they were out of range of the enemy, where he remounted the horse and rode to
safety.
Tpr Bisdee later served in the
First World War, obtaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was created an
officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) and was Mentioned in
Despatches. He died on 14 January 1930.
Note the signs on the second storey
verandah of the house saying "welcome home" and "well
done".
The
Governor of Tasmania presents Trooper (Tpr) John Hutton Bisdee with his
Victoria Cross.Members of the press, left, appear to be taking notes, while
other soldiers, probably of the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen look on. The
Tasmanian Government provided free railway passes to members of the 1st
Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen's contingent to enable them to attend.
Trooper John Hutton Bisdee VC, being greeted
from the train on his arrival home, probably Tasmania, from the South African
(Boer) War. He was invalided home after being wounded in action near Warm Bad,
Transvaal on 1 September 1900. Bisdee was awarded his Victoria Cross for
rescuing a comrade under fire. He was the first Australian born man to be
Gazetted for winning the Victoria Cross while serving under British Command
whilst serving in an Australian Regiment.
John Hutton Bisdee was born on 28 September
1869 at Hutton Park, Melton Mowbray, Tasmania.
Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Wednesday 15 January
1930, page 7
OBITUARY Lt.-Col. J. H. Bisdee,
V.C. A Distinguished Soldier
The death occurred at Tranquillity, Melton Mowbray, yesterday, of
Colonel John Hutton Bisdee, V.C., who had a most distinguished military career.
Born at Hutton Park, in the Kempton Municipality, on September 28, 1869,
deceased was a son of the late Mr. John Hutton Bisdee, of Hutton Park and Tedorth
estates. He was educated at the Hutchins School, Hobart, and after leaving school
he followed pastoral pursuits with success, being one of the partners of Bisdee
Brothers.
He served as a private with the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen in the South
African War, and was awarded the Victoria Cross In September, 1900, being the
first Tasmanian to win this notable decoration. Captain Guy Wylly, also of the
Second Tasmanian. Imperial Bushmen's Contingent, won the Victoria Cross the
same day that Colonel Bisdee won his, and only an hour separated them, thus he
gained the distinction of being the first Tasmanian V.C by the narrow margin of
one hour.
Deceased was promoted to the rank of lieutenant during the South African
War. He was engaged in operations in Cape Colony, Transvaal, and Orange River
Colony during the earlier part of 1901, including the action at
Wittenberg. He was mentioned in despatches on several occasions, and won the
Queen's Medal with three clasps, and the King's Medal with two clasps, in
addition to the V.C.
His Great War record includes ser-vices during army operations In Egypt
from November, 1915, to March, 1916, operations with the Egyptian Expeditionary
Forces from March, 1916, to October, 1918. He was wounded in the leg in 1916,
incapacitating him from further active service, and from that time till the end
of the war he served with General headquarters staff as Assistant Provost
Marshal. Distinctions won during the Great War were the O.B.E., British War
Medal, and Victory Medal. He went to the war as a major, and returned as
lieutenant-colonel.
Deceased also rendered military service during the years between the
Boer War and the Great War, and from 1906 to 1910 he held the ranks of second
lieutenant and captain respectively in the 12th Australian Light Horse. In
1912, he was transferred to the 26th Australian Light Horse as captain, and it
was as major in that unit that he commenced his service in the Great War.
Lieut. Colonel Bisdee was a private in the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen
when he won the V.C. decoration. On September 1, 1900, he was one of an
advanced scouting party passing through a rocky defile in the Transvaal. The
enemy, who were in ambuscade, opened fire on them at close range, and six out
of the party of eight were hit.
The horse of one wounded officer bolted. Private Bisdee gave the officer
his stirrup leather to help him out of action, but finding that the officer was
too badly wounded to go on, placed him on his own horse, mounted behind him,
and conveyed him out of range under a very hot fire and in an exposed place.
The late Mr. Bisdee married Miss Georgiana T. Hale, daughter of Rev. M.
B. Hale, first bishop of Perth and a sister of Mr. Harold Hale, of Cotswold
Lachlan. He resided at Hutton Park till he married Miss Hale, and he then went
to live with her at Ashbirton, Bridgewater. Mrs. Bisdee accompanied her husband
to Egypt in 1915, and she did valuable work in the army canteen there. She died
about three years ago at Christmas time, while staying in the south of France,
as the result of an attack of Influenza. There were no children of the
marriage.
On his return to Tasmania, Colonel Bisdee resided with his sister, Miss
Ina Bisdee, at Tranquillity, Melton Mow bray, and he continued to live there
after she died a short while ago. A brother Mr. Winchester Bisdee, of Heston
estate, Bagdad, and a sister, Miss Lucy Bisdee, of Melton Vale, Melton Mowbray,
are the only surviving members of his family, three brothers and several
sisters having predeceased him.
Deceased always took an active interest in municipal affairs, and was a member
of the Kempton Council for some years.
The wedding of
John Hutton Bisdee and Georgiana Thodosia Hale at Newlands in Hobart, Tasmania in
1904, who was the daughter of Bishop Matthew
Blagden Hale.
 |
Memorial in Oatlands
|
Mathew Blagden Hale (18 June 1811 – 3 April 1895), very frequently
spelled "Matthew", was the first
Bishop of Perth and then the Bishop of Brisbane.
Hale is recognised for seeking to empower the
South Australian Aboriginals through his work in the Poonindie mission,
establishing the Anglican Diocese of Perth and Hale School. Hale also served as
Bishop of Perth and Brisbane.
Mathew Blagden Hale was born on 18 June 1811
at
Alderley, Gloucestershire, the third son of Robert H. Blagden Hale (5 May 1780 –
20 December 1855) and Lady Theodosia Hale (née Bourke). His maternal
grandfather was
The Earl of Mayo,
Lord Archbishop of Tuam. After completing his education at
Wotton-under-Edge, he attended
Trinity College, Cambridge, and obtained his
B.A. in 1835 and
M.A. in 1838.
During
his time at Cambridge he met Harold Browne and they became life long friends.
Both came under the influence of Charles Simeon who celebrated fifty years of
evangelical ministry at (Holy) Trinity Church in 1832. The antislavery movement
driven by William Wilberforce also influenced Hale and he wanted to minister to
the newly emancipated slaves, particularly in the West Indies, but was not
encouraged to do so neither by his family nor by the missionary society working
in that region. Hale was ordained a deacon in the
Church of England in 1836, and
priest in 1837 by the Bishop of Bristol and Gloucester. From 1836 to 1838 he
was curate of
Tresham. In
1838 he acted as curate of Wootton-under-Edge, then from 1839 to 1845 Perpetual
Curate of
Stroud, an expanding
woollen-cloth manufacturing centre in Gloucestershire.
In
1840 Hale married Sophia Clode, with whom he would have three children, the
eldest of whom died in infancy. Sophia died in early 1845 followed by Hale’s
mother a few months later. Hale had an emotional breakdown and resigned.
Subsequently he served briefly as Rector of Alderley in 1845 and 1846, and then
as Perpetual Curate of
Atworth
with Wraxhill in 1846 and 1847.
In 1847 he met
Bishop Short at a friend's
house, and was persuaded to accompany him to Adelaide. Hale, with his two
surviving daughters and two servants in late December 1847 arrived in South
Australia, where he was appointed first Archdeacon of Adelaide. The following
year during a pastoral visit to Western Australia with Bishop Short he married
Sabina, eldest daughter of
John and
Georgiana Molloy. Subsequently,
after Hale returned to Adelaide, he was appointed the first rector of St
Matthew’s church at Kensington. In early 1850 Hale approached the Governor of
South Australia proposing an institution for young Aborigines where they would
live in one little community to learn practical skills in farming and domestic
arts and to receive Christian teaching. Later that year he volunteered his
services as mission superintendent. His offer was accepted and the Natives’
Training Institution was opened at
Poonindie, near
Port Lincoln, in October 1850.
Hale and his family moved to Poonindie soon afterwards and Mathew and Sabina’s
eldest surviving son, Mathew, was born there in July next year. The Institution
prospered and when Bishop Short visited in February 1853, there were 54
Aborigines resident, eleven of whom were baptised by the Bishop.
In 1856 Hale resigned to accept an invitation
to serve as
Bishop of Perth. In July 1856 he arrived in Western Australia on the
Guyon, which had diverted to Port Lincoln to pick him up, along with his two
eldest daughters and sister-in-law Georgiana Molloy, and in November the rest
of his family arrived there from South Australia.
In
March 1857, Hale returned to England with his family, where on 25 July 1857 he
was consecrated as the first Bishop of Perth at the
Lambeth Palace Chapel. The sermon was preached by Hale’s longtime friend
from their university days, Professor Harold Browne. According to its usual
custom Cambridge University awarded the new bishop an honorary Doctor of
Divinity degree. While Hale accepted this academic honour, he was reluctant to
adopt the style and title of “My Lord”, maintaining that as a colonial bishop
he would be better without it. However, the legal authorities ruled that he
must accept it and he did so.
Leaving his family in England Hale returned
to Western Australia on the convict ship Nile early in 1858, to take up office
as Bishop of Perth. It had been an eventful and dangerous voyage. The problems
arising from transportation were evident when Hale had made his initial tour of
his diocese-to-be and he had prepared a report on The Transportation Question,
advocating measures to make Western Australia a reformatory colony rather than
a penal settlement. This was published while he was in England. Hale’s report
demanded change in the colony’s penal system. When copies reached Perth before
he returned from England, there was a storm of criticism in the local news
media, claiming that Hale’s report was “full of misrepresentations and errors.”
However, when Hale’s own account of his voyage on the Nile and the behavior of
the convicts on it was published, he was vindicated and newspaper editors were
commending Hale, even as the Colonial Governor was disapproving because of
“embarrassment to Her Majesty’s Government.”
In June 1858, after he returned from England,
Hale opened a boys’ school for both boarders and day pupils. The Bishop’s School was modelled after
England's
public schools. Many of the pupils who attended it came from leading
families in the colony; many of them went on to become prominent in Western
Australian business and politics. Hale had continuing problems in finding
suitable schoolmasters and funds to support his school. Eventually this proved
too much for him and the Bishop’s School closed on 1 March 1872. However it
continued on under different management and eventually became today’s
Hale School. Bishop Hale is
generally recognised as the pioneer of secondary education in Western
Australia.
Communications with the eastern colonies and
England were made by sailing ship when Hale arrived in the colony in 1856 and
by steamship when he left in 1875. Albany was the first port of call on the
Australian continent. Hence Hale was the first Australian bishop to receive his
invitation to the first
Lambeth Conference held in 1867 and was the only one to attend it.
In 1870 a crisis arose when the lady running
an orphanage for indigenous children in Albany was unable to continue this
work. Hale decided to resign as bishop, apply for the vacant chaplaincy at
Albany, and carry on this orphanage work himself. As soon as his intention to
resign became known in Perth, a large deputation from the Protestant community
called on Hale and persuaded him to withdraw it. In explaining his intentions
to his friends Hale reminded them that
“I have no hesitation in saying that
a European population disregarding the welfare of the natives, whom it has
displaced from their country, will not ensure God’s blessing and therefore I do
hope that the public generally will support the Mission at Albany.”
In July 1871 Hale met with his clergy and
laity to draw up the constitution for a Diocesan synod and the first synod was
held in Perth in August 1872. He opened this synod with a significant sermon
Being
all things to all men on the responsibilities of both individual Christians
and the Church in their relationships with the world.
Hale was Bishop of Perth until 1875. On 5
April that year he received letters from Bishop Barker of Sydney and Bishop
Short of Adelaide asking for his consent to be nominated as second Bishop of
Brisbane. He was reluctant to accept this new responsibility, since he was in
his mid sixties and looking forward to retirement in a few years time, and did
so only on the condition that he had the unanimous support of all the
Australian bishops.
There was a public farewell to Bishop Hale on
30 October 1875 at which an address from the congregation of St George’s
Cathedral and members of other Christian communions was read.
[22] Hale’s ministry and
influence in Western Australia had not been confined to the Anglican Church but
involved active co-operation with other Christian groups in matters of common
interest. In particular the Congregationalists commended him for originating
and fostering
”institutions for promoting the moral and religious welfare of
the community” and for his
“truly missionary spirit”.
They were pleased
that he was always ready to contend for the truth
as it is in Jesus, ... .
They attributed the
truly evangelical and peaceful character of his
episcopate to his true love for the Bible, the word of God; ... . “ They
also recognised his
“hearty co-operation with others” not belonging to
his Church, concluding that they united with members of his Church and all
Protestant fellow colonists, in praying for his future welfare, peace and
happiness.
The Bishop acknowledged each address,
thanking
“his dear friends” for their very kind words, sometimes
suggesting that his own contribution was not as much as stated, other times
reminding
“his Sons and Daughters in the Lord Jesus Christ” to whom he had
ministered, that “ ........ my sole aim in my teaching has been to set forth
faithfully and simply the blessed truths which are to be found in God’s Holy
Word.” He also referred to the “mutual kindness and good will which exists
between members of the different religious bodies in this country who hold to
those great Scriptural doctrines which were ......... brought to light a second
time at the period of the Reformation, and which are to us more precious than
rubies.” In concluding his various replies he asked for their prayers for
him in his difficult new task and assured them of his continuing prayers and
interest in their affairs.
[24]
The editors of the local newspapers were
lavish in their praise of the departing bishop. The Western Australian Times
farewell editorial began with the words
“We admire great men and give genius
its due need of fame, but the good man gains not only our admiration but our
hearts ... . After outlining Hale’s many contributions to the life of the
colony the editorial concluded with the following commendation of Hale “He has
shown us what a true christian pastor can do, and how the holding of a high and
honoured office is not inconsistent with a brotherly bearing towards all, and
that a helping hand and a kind word, go more to make up real christianity, than
austere looks, and obstinate theories; and without disparagement of others, we
fear we may say that ‘take him all in all we’ll never see his like again’.”
The Perth Inquirer in its valedictory tribute
commented
“There are few individuals among the more conspicuous leaders of
any religious community upon whom suspicion ....... has never breathed its
taint. Bishop Hale is one of those few.”
Hale not only left the people of Perth with
much goodwill and positive memories of his ministry, he also
presented
to the church the Bishop’s house and grounds which were his own private
property. The value of these and other money given by him while he
was in Western Australia probably totalled nearly £10,000 - about A$1,000,000
in current (2014) value.
Hale received an enthusiastic welcome when he
was installed as second Bishop of Brisbane in St John’s Church on 15 December
1875. In his first address to his new flock Hale made it clear that he had been
brought to Queensland to deal with the problem of providing ministry to people
in vast areas of country where there were no churches or clergymen. He would be
powerless to do anything about it because of his lack of resources; resources,
which in the absence of any state aid for religion in the colony, only could
come from the freewill offerings of established congregations and individuals.
To deal with this lack of resources the
General Church Fund was launched at a meeting in Brisbane on the evening of 23
March 1876. It was intended that each congregation in the diocese would
contribute to the fund by passing on to the Diocesan Council the money received
from weekly offerings on two Sundays every year. At the same time direct
contributions were to be solicited from individuals to build up the capital
sum.
Hale
himself was disappointed that some of the speeches at the meeting did not
indicate a sense of
“the importance and the gravity of the matter which we
met together to discuss.” His opinion was supported by the lack of
donations received.
[31]
Hale toured his region widely. He hoped and
devoutly prayed that his visits from place to place would serve to bind Church
of England people in the colony more closely together. Hale’s determined goal
was to see the church
act more in concert one with another than we have
done.” We must realise
“that we are all one body, united in our blessed
Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, as to one Head, being all members one of
another, as members of His body.” Hale felt the concern of the present
period of commercial depression, commenting
“That which hinders the
performance of good works and holds people back from making adequate offerings
to God, is very rarely the real inability to give. The hindrance arises in
almost all cases from the want of a proper estimate of what is really owing to
God, and from the weakness of men’s faith ....... “
Twelve months after Hale had arrived in
Brisbane what had been given to the fund so far was completely inadequate. Hale
felt that this situation indicated that his coming to Brisbane had been a
mistake and so in January 1877 he submitted his resignation to Bishop Barker.
After intervention by Bishop Barker, the people and churches in Brisbane were
shamed into a commitment to support the General Church Fund and Hale withdrew
his resignation. Nevertheless, despite Hale’s generous personal donations, the
funds received were never sufficient to meet the needs.
At the second General Synod in Sydney in
October 1876 Hale was appointed President of the Executive Council of the Board
of Missions (later Australian Board of Missions). In July 1878, with Hale’s
encouragement, the Brisbane Synod established a Clergy Superannuation and Widows
and Orphans Fund, while in the following year, after discussions between Hale
and Bishop Barker, Synod recognised the establishment of the Diocese of North
Queensland. In October 1881, as the
senior bishop attending, Hale presided over the third General Synod in Sydney.
Subsequently, he was involved in the negotiations which led to the appointment
of Alfred Barry as Bishop of Sydney. In April 1884 he welcomed Barry and
participated in his installation in Sydney.
A mark of Hale’s ministry in Brisbane as in
Perth was his association with members of other Christian churches in causes of
common interest. He presided at annual meetings of the local auxiliary of the
Bible Society; he addressed a large gathering of Sunday school children in the
Brisbane Botanic Gardens in May 1884; he identified himself with the Social
Purity Society and its lobbying to change legislation that controlled
prostitution; he laid the foundation stones for the Loyal Orange Institution’s
New Protestant Hall in Ann Street and for the Lutheran Church in Wickham
Terrace; he supported the YMCA, having chaired its inaugural meeting in
December 1882, and also the work of Temperance societies concerned with the
abuse of alcohol, as well as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals.
The Bishop was farewelled on 19 March 1885 at
a public gathering in the Exhibition Building, Bowen Hills by 700 to 800 people
- Church of England, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Lutheran, Scandinavian, Primitive
Methodist, Congregational and Baptist. The Baptist Association in its farewell
address had commended him for
“true catholicity” and faithfulness to the
principles of his own church. Hale responded “There are in existence here evils
of fearful magnitude, .... which are threatening to eat into the very heart of
the social and domestic happiness of this community. By making common cause
with others, and by working heartily with them, I may have been, I trust,
through God’s mercy, able to do at least something towards checking these
evils.”
The Fortitude Valley branch of the Church of
England Temperance Society concisely expressed its appraisal of Hale’s
ministry.
“Your many acts of unostentatious charity, the ready help which
you have always given to the promotion of evangelical religion, the generous
sympathy which you have ever displayed in the cause of temperance, and the
liberal and consistent spirit of Christianity which has characterised your
Episcopate, have greatly endeared you to all classes of men among whom you have
diligently laboured.”[41]
The Toowoomba Chronicle was forthright in its
commendation of Hale’s goodness and openness to cooperation with others and
scathing of those Anglicans who refused to follow his example.
“That the
Church of England has not progressed during the past decade in the same ratio
as the population is not the Bishop’s fault. He has had to exercise episcopal
functions in a diocese divided against ‘itself.’ ...... The evangelical breadth
of the Bishop has overstrained the unelastic charity of a few of the clergy.”[42]
The Chronicle’s editorial ended with an
appreciation of Sabina Hale’s contribution to social work in the community,
referring particularly to her good relationships with all the other ladies she
had worked with, both Anglicans and those of
“other religious persuasions.”
Returning to
England
Bishop Hale and his wife left Brisbane for
Sydney on 27 March 1885. Four days later
he handed his resignation letter to the Primate, Bishop Barry. Hale and his family sailed for England via
Colombo in the P&O mail steamer Thames on 2 May. After changing ships they arrived in England
on 14 July.
Hale lived in retirement at
Clifton, Bristol, where he died
on 3 April 1895. He was buried in the churchyard at Alderley, Gloucestershire.
He was survived by his second wife Sabina, five sons and three daughters
Alfred Henry Bisdee 1819 - 1898 youngest brother of John, married Sarah
Butler, 1813 - 1887
Sarah was the daughter of Gamaliel Butler and Sarah Paine
Their children were
1. Sarah
Maria Bisdee 1850 - 1935 m John
Roche Rahilly
2. Thomas
Gamaliel Bisdee 1852 - 1933 m Edith Mitchell 1854 - 1926
3.
Alfred James Bisdee 1854 - 1930 m
Emily Rogers 1853 - 1868
m
Emma Turner 1859 - 1951
Alfred
was involved in local communities and events.
He served on the Oatlands Rabbit Board, before leaving for England in
1873.
They
lived at Sandhills at Jericho. When they
returned to England they lived at Hutton.
They are buried at the cemetery in Hutton, St Mary's Church.
John was an Assistant Surgeon with the 2lst Foot, Staff
Assistant-Surgeon John Roche. Rahilly to be
Assistant-Surgeon in India.
Their children
1.
Eileen Rahilly 1879
- 1965
2.
Lt Colonel John Maurice Bisdee Rahilly 1880 - 1952 In R.A. Medical Corp WWI
3.
Dorothy Roche Rahilly 1883 - 1956
4.
Captain Dennis Edward Rahilly RN 1887 - 1966
5.
Kathleen Iris Rahilly 1889 - 1958
Dennis
served on the HMAS Sydney, when the sunk the Emden, off the coast of West Australia. The convoy were taking troops to Middle East.
He is
named on the monument.
North Face: 'LIST OF OFFICERS ON
BOARD H.M.A.S. SYDNEY ON THE OCCASION\ OF THE DESTRUCTION OF S.M.S. EMDEN ON
9TH NOVEMBER 1914. CAPTAIN J.C.T. GLOSSOP. LIEUTENANT COMMANDER J.F. FINLAYSON.
LIEUNANT D.E.RAHILLY. B.O. BELL SALTER. F.L. CAVAYE. G.C. HAMPDEN. C. POE. R.C.
GARSIA. SUB LIEUTENANT J.M.C. JOHNSTONE. ENGINEER LIEUTENANT COMMANDER A.W.
COLEMAN. ENGINEER LIEUTENANT L.P.FOWLER. C. DENNIS. CHAPLIN V.A.S. LITTLE.
STAFF PAYMASTER E.C. NORTON.
ASSISTANT PAYMASTER E. KINGSFORD PAYMASTER. SURGEONS L. DARBY. A. TODD. GUNNERS
G.B. SALTER. J.C. MCFARLANE. BOATSWAIN A.M. MARTIN. CARPENTER E.C. BEHENNA.
ARTIFICER ENGINEER C.A. HUTCHISON.'
2,
Lt Colonel John Maurice Bisdee Rahilly m Emily Dorothy Ludlow
3.
Dorothy Roche Rahilly married
Major Augustus Henniker of the 3rd
Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
4.
Captain Dennis Edward Rahilly RN
m Minnie Jean Dixon
5.
Kathleen Iris Rahilly married
Captain Franklin Ratsey RN in 1912.
Three of his brothers were killed in WWI. He survived.
Also 12
August 1915
|
Clayton,
29, and Donald Ratsey, 31, both Captains with the 1/8th (Isle of Wight
Rifles, Princess Beatrice's) Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment, in Gallipoli.
Sons of Thomas and Lucy Ratsey of "Granville", Cowes, Isle of
Wight, of the famous sail-making family. In command of C and D Companies
respectively when killed, neither has a known grave, and both are
commemorated on the Helles Memorial to the Missing. Their younger brother,
Lieutenant Stephen Ratsey, of the same regiment, was killed at the age of 24
on 19th April 1917, at Gaza. He is buried in Gaza War Cemetery.
|
Thomas Bisdee married Edith Mitchell
Their children:
1. Graeme Sutherland Bisdee 1878 - 1942 m Phillipa Morris 1878 - 1942
2. Marjorie Bisdee 1881
- 1969 m Eric Marsten Garcia 1882 - 1968
3. James Bisdee 1883
- 1884
4. Joan Laidley Bisdee 1885
- 1971 m Reginald Philip Gregory 1880 - 1918
5. Thomas Edward Bisdee 1888
- 1934 m Enid Rona Maasdorp 1890 - 1982
6. Beatrice Edith Bisdee 1889
- 1971 m Alfred Clifford Taylor 1904
7. Constance Mary Bisdee 1891
- 1979 m Francis Harold Blackmore 1868 m William O'Hara d 2009
8. George Alfred Bisdee 1892
- 1905 Buried Hutton Somerset
9.
James Sutherland Mitchell Bisdee 1895
- 1959 Buried Hutton Somerset
Phillipa Morris was the daughter of Dr.
Andrew Bernard Morris of India.
Francis Harold Blackmore was a Wholesale
Newsagent
Reginad Philip Gregory attended Cambridge.
ame:
|
Reginald Philip. Gregory
|
College:
|
ST
JOHN'S
|
Entered:
|
Michs.
1898
|
BORN:
|
1879
|
Died:
|
24
Nov 1918
|
More Information:
|
Adm. pens. at ST JOHN'S, Sept. 21,
1898. S. of Arthur, currier, of Weston-super-Mare [and Eliza Handerwick
Barnes]. B. [June 7, 1879], at Trowbridge, Wilts. School, Weston-super-Mare. Matric. Michs. 1898; Scholar; B.A.
(Nat. Sci. Trip., Pt I, 1st Class, 1900; Pt II, 1st Class, 1902) 1901; M.A.
1905. Fellow, 1904-18. Tutor, 1912-18. Demonstrator in Botany, 1902-7;
Lecturer in Botany, 1907. Served in the Great War, 1914-19 (2nd Lieut.,
Gloucs. Regt.; wounded). Author, papers on genetics and cytology. Resided at
7, Harvey Road, Cambridge, where he died Nov. 24, 1918. (Schoolmasters'
Directories; Who was Who; Scott, MSS.; Univ. War List; The Times,
Nov. 28, 1918.)
|
James Sutherland Mitchell Bisdee served in
World War I in the Royal Artillery. He
was a Doctor.
Eric Marston Garcia was in the Boer War, he
joined in New Zealand. He was the son of
Captain Garcia.
Constance Mary Bisdee served in the Red Cross
in WWI She is buried at Hutton
Bisdee,
Graeme Sutherland (1879–1942)
The death occurred in a private hospital at
Hobart yesterday morning of Mr. Graeme Bisdee (62). Mr. Bisdee, who was a son
of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bisdee, of Sandhill, Jericho, and later of
Hutton Court, Somersetshire, England, was born at Sandhill. He was educated at
St. Peter's School, Adelaide, and the Hutchins School, Hobart. When his parents
went to Somersetshire he took over the management of the Sandhill property from
his father. He served in the last war, holding the rank of captain in the 40th
Battalion.
On his return from the war he joined the
staff of Roberts and Co. Ltd. Mr. Bisdee was a member of the Royal Hobart Golf
Club and was a lay reader at St. Peter's Church, Jericho.
He married Miss Philippa Morris, daughter of
the late Dr. A. B. Morris, of Launceston. He is survived by his wife, son
(Major Maurice Bisdee, who is serving with the Army Medical Corps in India),
and daughter (Mrs. T. D. Raphael, of Hobart). Cremation will take place at
Hobart tomorrow morning.
Bisdee,
Graeme Sutherland (1879–1942)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of
Biography, Australian National University,
http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/bisdee-graeme-sutherland-23057/text32334,
accessed 26 May 2018.
Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Thursday 26
April 1934, page 5
OBITUARY LIEUT.-COLONEL
T. E. BISDEE.
Lieut - Colonel Thomas Edward Bisdee D. S. O. M.C. whose death has
occurred at Hutton Court Somersetshire England was the second son of the late
Mr. T. G. Bisdee of Hutton Court and formerly of Sandhill Jericho Tasmania.
Lieut. Colonel Bisdee was born at
Sandhill and his first school was the one conducted by the late Mr. Willlam
Buckland at Hobart.
He went to England when a boy with his parents and later
entered the Army, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He served with
distinction in the Great War winning the D. S. O. and the Military Cross. The
last three years he spent with his regiment in India.
At the time of a riding accident
which caused his death he was at Hutton Court with his brother Mr.G. S. Bisdee
late of Sandhill, Jericho ( T ). Lieut. Colonel Bisdee leaves a wife and one
son John who is 13 years of age.
He married Enid Rosa Maasdorp who
was the daughter of Sir Andrew Maasdorp and Lady Agnes Catherine Hayton. Her parents lived in Grahamestown South
Africa.
He was the Honourable Sir Andries Ferdinand Stockenstrom Maasdorp and he was born in 1847 in Malmesbury, Cape Province. His parents were Gysbert Henry Maasdorp. He married in 1880 Agnes Hayton.
Father: MD, and District Surg. of Graaff-Reinet; Other: Educ, at Graaff-Reinet College and University College. London: 1869 B.A. London University : 1871 Barrister. Inner Temple; 1874-1878 Member for Graaff-Reinet in the Cape House of Assembly; 1878-1897 Solicitor-General for the Eastern Districts of the Cape
South African Who's Who 1929
Their son was John Derek
Bisdee who was born in 1915.
Yet another John Bisdee, who
served his country and who has been remembered for his courage.
Bisdee, John Derek Date of birth: November 30th, 1915
(Weston-Super-Mare/Somerset, Great Britain)
Date of death: October 21st, 2000
Service number 76575.
John Bisdee joined the RAF Voluntary Reserve, and began the war as a sergeant
pilot. His combat career started while with 609 (West Riding) squadron RAAF,
flying. They participated in the air cover of the evacuation of the British
Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. John Bisdee destroyed six aircraft between
July 1940 and July 1941, including an Me110 during an eventful day in August
1940 when they attacked a strong Luftwaffe force of 45 JU88's escorted by many
Me 109s and Me 110s. In July 1941 he became instructor at No 61 Operational
training unit. While here he had a small speaking role in the classic wartime
film The First of the Few.
He became commander of No. 601 Squadron and
embarked along with 603 Squadron for Malta on board the US carrier Wasp. While
off Algiers 47 Spitfires took of for Malta. and almost immediately upon
arriving took part in combat. Bisdee shot down a JU88. He himself had to bail
out. with a damaged parachute dangling by one leg, he had to disentangle
himself as he fell, managing just in time and landing in the sea, paddling his
way 6 miles in his dinghy to Malta.
In June 1942 the squadron went to Egypt. In
August John Bisdee became flight training officer at the Middle East
Headquarters, Cairo, moving in 1943 as Wing Commander for day fighters in
Tunisia. In July 1943, after the capture of the island of Lampedusa, halfway
between Malta and Sicily, Bisdee was appointed its governor - the first
governor in liberated Europe, as he liked to claim. Returning to North Africa,
Bisdee trained Free French pilots at Bone. Later, after a brief spell in
Corsica, he commanded No 322 Wing at Bone. In 322 Wing were three Spitfire
squadrons, a Beaufighter Squadron a Wellington Squadron used in anti shipping
role and an Air Sea Rescue unit. Group Captain John Bisdee left the Royal Air
Force in 1945 with his official score of 8 destroyed and 2 shared.
After the war Bisdee rebuilt Unilever's
operations in France and Italy. In 1951 he was appointed sales director of D
& W Gibbs, the toothpaste makers, of which he became chairman. Bisdee went
on to chair Thibaud Gibbs in France, and then returned to Britain to run the
newly formed Elida Gibbs - now Elida Faberge - which produced all Unilever
toiletries. He retired in 1977.
John Bisdee died at the age of 84 on the 21st October 2000.
Promotions:
December 10th, 1939: Pilot Officer
December 10th, 1940: Flying Officer
December 10th, 1941: Flight Lieutenant
June 18th, 1943: Squadron Leader (war sub)
June 10th, 1945: Wing Commander
Rank: Pilot Officer Awarded on: March 17th, 1941
Action:
Citation:
"This officer has led his flight and section with great skill and
determination. He has participated in a large number of operational flights
against the enemy and has destroyed at least six of their aircraft besides
damaging many others. He has set a fine example."
Awarded
on: June 8th, 1944
Rank: Acting
Group Captain Unit: Royal Air Force
Awarded
on: June 14th, 1945
