Trove Tuesday: More about Dave Taylor

I was searching, with some success, the newspaper files on Trove for mention of my great-grandparents when they lived at Lismore, Victoria early in the 1900s. Just following rabbits down various burrows as you do.

Henry and Martha Taylor seem to have had a fruit and vegetable shop in Lismore - Henry was a market gardener - while maintaining a connection with properties at Ecklin South and Cobden.

One of the newspaper items I found was a letter from a soldier, local Lismore lad Patrick Leslie McGowan known as Les, written to his mother from Egypt and published in the local rag in August 1915. He was a soldier in the AIF in World War 1. Les is not a relation of ours but in his letter he mentions Henry and Martha Taylor's son, Dave.

I've previously written a blog post about Dave because he too served in WW1 but, unlike Les, he was killed in action in France. Les' letter adds a little more detail to Dave's story.

Dave Taylor

Dave sailed to Egypt on the 'Clan Macgillivray', arriving March 1915, and then immediately sailed to Australia and then back to Egypt as a Military Policeman (Provost) on the 'Ulysses'. Les McGowan had enlisted in April 1915 and also sailed on the 'Ulysses' from Melbourne. Like Dave he was a Military Policeman on the ship, and off and on throughout the war ( he also served as a shoeing smith at times), when he served at Gallipoli, France and India.

This is Les McGowan's letter in which describes the journey from Melbourne to Egypt and something of the life of a soldier in Eygpt. A month or so later both Les and Dave went to Gallipoli.

Les McGowan's letter published in
 the Lismore, Derrinallum and Cressy Advertiser
18 August 1915

Dorothy's war

With ANZAC Day approaching I thought I'd write about my grandmother, Dorothy Wyllie.

Dorothy was a teenager, a young woman, at the start of World War 1. She lived with her parents in rural Victoria at South Ecklin near Cobden and she had a lot of relatives in Western Victoria as well, her mother's siblings and their families.

In 1916 Dorothy married Allan Wyllie and moved to the Wimmera area of Victoria where Allan was a farmer.

Dorothy Wyllie nee Taylor

So how is this relevant to ANZAC Day? Dorothy didn't go to war but a lot of her relatives did. Some came home, some came home injured, some didn't come home. She, and many other women like her, waited at home, worried, wrote letters, joined the Red Cross and organised packages to send overseas and ran a home and raised her family on the farm.

This is a long list of Dorothy's close relatives who served in World War 1 and World War 2.

World War 1

Brother: James William (Bill) Taylor. Bill served in 2nd Australian Machine Gun Battalion in France and returned to Australia 1919.

Brother: David Edgar Taylor. David served on Gallipoli and France and was killed in action at Pozieres, France 5 Aug 1916.

Brother-in-law: William Angus Wyllie. Angus served in the Middle East then France with the 58th Battalion. He was wounded in action and sent to England for treatment to a gunshot wound in his shoulder. He rejoined his unit in France, was wounded a second time and again sent to England. He returned to Australia 1919.

Cousin: Francis George Brown was a private in the 9th Light Horse. Served in Gallipoli, France (wounded in action) and the Middle East. Returned to Australia 1919 an invalid. Two half-brothers (Jack and Gordon) also served.

Cousin: John Henry (Jack) Brown. Jack was a private in the 60th Battalion and served at Gallipoli and in France. He was killed in action at Fleurbaix, France on 19 July 1916.

Cousin: Lindsay Gordon (Gordon) Brown, Jack's brother. Gordon enlisted under a false name using his mother's surname, Cooper. He was a private in the 29th Battalion and served in France. He died in France of influenza on 27 November 1918, just after the war ended.

Cousin: William Herbert Maskell. A private in the 14th Battalion. He enlisted in 1914, served in Gallipoli and the Middle before being transferred to France. He was sent to England suffering from shell shock and was sent home to Australia in 1917 an invalid. He was Mentioned is Despatches for bravery at Pozieres, France in August 1916.

Cousin: Stanley Gordon Maskell, William's brother. Stan was a private in the 58th Battalion. He served in France and was wounded in action (gassed), wounded a second time (gunshot wound to a knee). After being transferred to a hospital in England he was invalided home to Australia in 1918.

Cousin: John James (Jack) Brown. Jack was a private in the 38th Battalion and served in France. He suffered from trench feet and was eventually sent back to England to recuperate and take furlough before returning to France. He was shot in the arm and was sent back to hospital in England. He was sent back to Australia as an invalid.

World War 2

Brother: Leonard Allen (Allen) Taylor. Allen was a sapper in the 2/16 Army Field Company and served in the Middle East and Asia.

Son: James William Wyllie. Jim served in the Middle East and South-east Asia with the 2/1st Battalion in northern Africa and the south-west Pacific.

Son: Angus John Wyllie. Angus served as a Corporal in the 101st Motor Regiment before volunteering to transfer to the 'Z' Special Force for covert operations in New Guinea and the Indonesian islands. He specialised in communication. Invalided to Australia with tropical dermatitis.

Brother-in-law: Charles William Fraser. He was a Corporal in the RAAF, a motor cycle driver. He served in Darwin.

Cousin: David Edgar Brown

Cousin: Geoffrey William Brown. Geoffrey was a Private in the 2/21st Infantry Battalion, captured and held as a Prisoner of War on Ambon. He was executed (beheaded) there in 1942.

Cousin's husband: William Harry Tasman (Bill) WHITBREAD. Bill was a Corporal  in the 2/29th Aust. Inf. Batt. POW on Burma-Siam Railway.

Cousin's husband: Albert William Hampson

Cousin's husband: David Llewellyn Roberts. In the 2/3rd Infantry Battalion. Served in Greece. Captured in Crete. Prisoner of war at Stalag Hammelburg 13C (XIIIC), working on railways. Flown to UK 10 Apr 1945 and returned to Australia in May 1945.

And, as well, several family members including her brother-in-law Angus Wyllie, served in the Citizen Military Force for the duration of the second World War.

Sepia Saturday: Allen and Laura Taylor

Laura and Allen Taylor

Allen Taylor was my great-uncle, my grandmother's brother. He died in 1972 when I was already an adult but I have only vague memories of meeting him and my aunt Laura once or twice and even then I can't recall the circumstances. I wonder now if he and his sister maintained contact that I'm unaware of, or if he was in touch with his other siblings.

So this is all that I know about him:

• His father was a market gardener, skilled at growing vegetables, and his mother was a midwife
• he was born at South Ecklin in 1902
• when he was 12 years old his oldest brother, David,  was killed in action in France
• another brother served as a soldier in WW1 as well
• he married Laura Hancock in 1926 and his son Roy was born the same year
• in the 1930s he lived the western suburbs of Melbourne and worked as an assembler
• his younger brother George, who also lived in the western suburbs, was killed accidentally in 1934
• when he was 37 years old he enlisted in the army in WW2, serving as a sapper in the Middle East and Asia
• his son, Roy, also enlisted, in 1945
• after the war he lived at Red Cliffs near Mildura and worked as a foreman shed hand in some sort of fruit industry.

The photo of Allen and Laura in their garden is just about the only one I have of them and I quite like that it shows a playful side to his character. Laura has a fork in her hand and someone has tucked a dahlia under Allen's singlet. Allen looks very fit and strong. Who was the photographer I wonder?

This is the only other photo I have. It's Allen, in his army uniform, with his father Henry and his son Roy. Roy looks quite young so I think it must have been taken in about 1939.

Three generations. Roy, Henry and Allen Taylor, c1939.

Maybe sometime a Taylor relative will read this blog and fill me in with more details about this branch of my family's tree.

You can read more gardening stories over at Sepia Saturday.

Sepia Saturday: Pinnies and pets

The theme this Sepia Saturday is 'aprons'. I remember when I was about six or seven, my friend Mary Gamble and I were in her kitchen and her mother was teaching us how to do up the bows at the back of our aprons. Well, actually, we didn't call them aprons, we called them pinnies. And, when you think about it, doing a bow behind your back is quite an accomplishment. And I remember when I was about 12 or 13 in our sewing class at school we made our own bibbed aprons (and matching hats) to wear in cooking class.

Every woman I knew wore an apron - my mum, my nana, my gran, the mothers of my friends - but now hardly anyone does. Maybe for a barbie, or if we're cooking something really messy, but they are made out of a plastic or a designer-linen. Not lovely, soft, cotton, hand-made aprons with frills, lace, gingham, rick-rack or gathers like our mother's.

As I looked through my albums to choose some photos of people wearing aprons they seemed to fall naturally into a theme. Can you guess before I tell you at the end?

My great-grandmother, Martha Taylor, at Cobden with her house cow.

My husband's aunt, Elva Alford, at Mologa feeding her pet lamb.

Lily Rowe nee Stone, at Bendigo with her pet dog.

My mother-in-law, Shirley Alford, at Mologa with a champion milking cow.

My husband's aunt, Joy Phelan, at Mitiamo
with her pet chicken. It's been for a ride
 in the pram I'm guessing.

Yes, you guessed it. People wearing aprons while they're with their pets.

Now I suggest you take off your apron, grab a cuppa, and check out the Sepia Saturday webpage to see some of the other contributions to the theme.

Remembrance Day: We remember those who served

On a personal level we remember family members who served in war. My husband and I remember these grandparents and great-uncles who voluntarily enlisted in WW1. Two were killed in action.

  William Angus Wyllie
  Thomas Henry Smith
  David Edgar Taylor (KIA)
  James William Taylor
  David Ray Leed (KIA)
  William George Leed
  Robert John Daniel Phelan
  William Thomas Alford

I've written a blog about Thomas Henry Smith and David Ray Leed here and here.Today I'm highlighting David Edgar Taylor.

David Edgar Taylor

David was the eldest son of Henry and Martha Taylor who lived at South Ecklin near Cobden, Victoria. On the 30 November 1914, when he was 22 years old, he enlisted in the AIF and was attached to the 6th Battalion.

David sailed to Egypt on the 'Clan Macgillivray', arriving March 1915, and then to Australia and back to Egypt as a Military Policeman (Provost) on the 'Ulysses'. He was then transferred to the 22nd Battalion (Second Division) and went to Gallipoli with that battalion in August 1915. [Note: Each Division four battalions of about 1000 men.]

The arrival of the Second Division at ANZAC.
The 6th Infantry Brigade camping in Rest Gully 5th September 1915.
  Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 Vol X11

We have a few fragments of a diary the David kept and some letters that he wrote home This is his diary from Gallipoli. I've retained Dave's original spelling.

Diary Page Four [Gallipoli, September 1915]

 … shell us again they gave us some big ones that the boys call … ball,  one landed just near us & blew a big hole in the ground just like a water hole they call them  … explosive shells
9^th  It has been quiet all day, tonight we tried to bluff them that we were going to attack them by giving them three rounds nappaid then duck behind the parript & let them waist there minition  our artillary has been giving them a hot time of it
10^th they gave us some more shells this morning one of our cpls got buried in his dug out & was there some time before he got out
11^th  We gave them a few more rounds nappied this morning, after that … us a few rounds in return but we did not bite like they do  they also gave us a few more shells
12^th   has been quite a day  they gave us a few more shells, it is just a  week since our … landed on the dardnelles we have only had 26 casualties … were killed the others were wounded  … guns on our cliff all day they sound like … Beachy Bill as our boys  call her has been … all day landing on the …  she killed 4 & wounded 26 this gun has accounted … since the first landing our guns can never get on to …

..th they gave us a good shelling this morning of the … it one had his arm torn clen of  the rest of the day was quite
… morning .. us  a … more shells but no one was hurt …
 … have had a quite day our artillary giving them gip  all …  … not supplied to it we have also given them a  hot …   2 more of our chaps got shot though the …
16^th  got some more shells today but done no damage tonight a piece of shell landed just beside me while on  my post
19^th  very quite all day till five oclock we had just come back from a swim on the Beach & having tea when all of a sudden they started to bombard us & for about an hour they peppered us hot & solid  they also used there machine guns on us we were all huddled up in our dug outs when the order came to fall in & stand to arms & out we had to get with shells flying all around us & get in to the firing line with  … we had 14 casualtys 2 were killed right out and 9 others were terrible cut about … amount there was left … a major as 9 oclock tonight we thought they were going to attack us all night we straining our eyes & waiting for them to come till day light but they did not to relive our feelings
20th  Today we shifted along the firing line some distance  has been quite all day got a few more shells to day but they did no damage
21st  our war boats have been shelling the Turks all day every shell that fell seem to scoop out yards of there trench
… I have been sick all day had cold shivers this morning our guns … shelling them they gave us a few shells this evenin but  they … have the same strength as our shells do
… sick this morning & have been off duty all day … mail came in today but I got no letters from home … today this is the 8^th time that I have …
22^nd  They started to shell us early this morning but as usual our boys give them the worst of it one of our guns opened up on trenches in front of us & God help the men that tried to leave in that trench & not only that our shells were landing every where.  This afternoon they were trying a new gun of ours on the Turk trenches in front of us it was awful to watch them shells you could hear them coming over like a big … coming through the air the sound was bad enough for us to hear but not half as bad as  must have sounded for the Turks
23^rd  quite all day we gave them a stir up this morning with both arrittarly & rifle some of our shells were coming over 4 miles & landed in a Turks trench about 20 yards in front of us the very air … is alive with shells they opened … there 75 on us but done no damage our guns soon quitened it this was the first time that they had opened there artillary on us at night for they were frightened of showing there guns up
24^th  We again shift along the line we are not allowed to leave the firing line for one minute with out calling the … up they shelled us again this afternoon but done no damage our artillary has been keeping them busy all day
25^th  We are in supports to day for a spell which is the … since we landed also a wash which is also our second  this … had to go back to the firing line
26^th They have kept shelling away all day with there …  …was hurt very badly our war boats have been giving them some shells this after noon
27^th  This morning as daylight we discovered that they had put up some barb wire in front of there trenches through the night, none of us had noticed them doing it, this morning they made it a bit hot for us they gave us about 200 shells, today we hear that our boys on the left  have advanced about two miles inland, we also get word that England has broke the German line in the western front  we again go to the supports I have not taken my clothes off since we landed & only had my boots off once bar when we went for a swim

28^th  we still get good news from the western front & all hope that the war will soon end for we are sick of this life, we are feeling dirty & grimey, we were having tea to night when a shell landed just near us we were all ordered to our dug outs & had just left our places when a shell landed right where I was sitting I was at my post just after when another shell landed just beside me but as luck would have it the ground was soft if it had been hard I would not have been alive to write this
29^th  very quite all day a few shells landed near us at dinner time but done no damage

October 1915
1^st  Two chaps killed on the next post to me shot them in the head with bullets from a machine gun I had a look at the post this morning there was blood every where they gave us some shells this after noon
2^nd  We got a lot of shelling this after noon we have been deepening our trenches to day had to nock  off now & again & get into our dug outs away from there  shells
3^rd  word was passed on to us from the turks that many of them would surrender if we would not shoot them when they were coming over we sent back word that they could come but not more than 2 at a time, just after dark about 20 were seen coming towards our trenches & others were getting over the parript  & thinking that they were going to attack us we were told to stand to arms & our … gun open out on them after more were seen coming over we were all ordered to take down our sand bags & fix bayonets ready to charge but they did not come they sent word that they had mistaken our  … & that they were only coming over to give them selves up
4^th  we had just been relived from the firing line this morning and they opened up with there 75 on us for about an hour they gave it to us hot & solid we had to go to the firing line again & stand to … the post that we had just left was blown to pieces & one of our chaps with his arm blown off many others were wounded one of the chaps on the next post had been shot through the head he was a fine fellow & was the only support of his crippled Sister He was Pte Grant
…back in the firing line to day things were very

On 29th October 1915 Dave was suffering from severe pneumonia and a week later was transferred to the hospital ship 'Somali' and taken to Gibraltar. On the 19th December he was transferred to the 3rd London Auxiliary Hospital in England, still suffering from pneumonia.

David was sent to France on 25th March. In the meantime the 22 Battalion had been posted to France, and David rejoined them on 31st July 1916. In April 1916, shortly after his arrival in France he write to his sister, my grandmother:

Well Dear Sister I had quite a good time in England I will never forget it, it is the Best Place that I have been in yet of course it does not come up to Australia but for all that it is the next Best better than France anyway you see I have not seen much of France yet but what I have seen of it I don’t care too much for & will not be sorry when we get a move on as for England I could stay there till the war is over but like all other things that are good they have to end Duty must be done so here I am some where in France.

The Second Division, AIF, on the march in France, July 1916

The Germans held the Pozieres area on the Somme River and were in an immensely strong position with clear views over all possible lines of advance by the allies. In July 1916 the British Infantry and the Australian First Division had made costly attacks against Pozieres and the village was reduced to rubble. The First Division last 5285 men in three days, and were replaced by the Second Division on 27th July. In ten days they lost 6848 men before they were relieved by the Fourth Division.

Dave Taylor was killed in this battle, on 5th August 1916, but his body was never found. His family was told that he was 'Missing in Action' and an enquiry 14 months later found that he had been 'Killed in Action'. He is listed on the Memorial Wall at Villers-Bretonneux.

The O.G.1. trench, Pozieres, France. This is the area where David Taylor died.

Sadly, David's mother could never quite believe that David had been killed. And the family heard that he was 'Missing in Action' on the day before my grandmother's wedding. I've written about that here.

David Edgar Taylor.

Eldorado

El Dorado (Spanish for 'the gilded one') was a fabled city in South America, rich in treasure and sought by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. 'Reid's Creek' (now called Reedy Creek), in north-eastern Victoria, was named after David Reid who held a station in the area in the 1840s but when gold was discovered there in the 1850s an influx of miners arrived. By the 1870s there were 4000 people living along the creek, including several members of my family. The name Eldorado was applied to the town that developed but previously it had been the name of another station in the area - in 1842 the prescient Furey Baker subdivided his 'Barambogie' station and the western section was named 'El Dorado'. The gold mining district became known as 'the Ovens' because of the main river that flows through the valley.

I'm not sure of the chronological sequence of events but generally it looks something like this. In July 1863 Annie Chellew (nee Chaundy) was living at Beaufort near Ballarat with her husband Arthur who was a goldminer. One day Arthur and his mate went down their mine and both died as a result of suffocating in the foul air. Annie was a widow at the age of 23. James Taylor must have been also mining in the area because he married Annie at Beaufort in April 1864.

Some time in the next few years Annie and James Taylor moved to Eldorado, and so did Annie's sisters, Emily Rachel Chaundy  (who married a miner, Thomas Young at Eldorado in 1874), Leah (who married a miner, Gregory Raby, at nearby Beechworth in May 1864) and Alice Julia Chaundy (who married Peter Cameron in 1883). I don't know which of the four sisters arrived first but their children all grew up in the area between Wangaratta and Beechworth, including my great-grandfather Henry Taylor who was born at Eldorado in 1869. It was 'Kelly country', and Henry would have known of several members of the Kelly Gang who also lived near the town and hid from authorities in the surrounding hills.

.

Eldorado, Victoria 1909
Source: Museum Victoria Reg. No. MM6166

Today the vegetation around the town and along the creek has regrown after the devastation that goldmining creates and when we visited last week it was looking very pretty - the wattle was flowering and the first of the spring wildflowers emerging. The population is about 300 now but with modern transport it is close to Beechworth, Chiltern and Wangaratta so isn't as isolated and distant as it must have once been.

We went out to the cemetery where James Taylor, my direct ancestor, is buried. (None of the Chaundy sisters are buried there.) I already knew there wasn't a headstone but it was good to visit, to pay respect and get a feel for the place. He's a long way from Durham in England where he was raised in a small back lane right next to the magnificent Durham Cathedral.

Durham Cathedral, Durham. Old postcard.

Postcript: On a lighter note, while at the cemetery we found this stone with a plaque attached.

"Plot 12 & 13, Reserved for M & M, one day"
Eldorado Cemetery, Victoria

A wedding in Cobden

This is the wedding photo of my grandparents, Robert Alan (Alan) Wyllie and Dorothy (Dolly) Taylor. As was often the case in those days, the photo would not have been taken on the actual day but rather a day or two later whilst they were passing through Melbourne to Tasmania on their honeymoon. The newspaper report provided me with a lot of detail about the wedding, and I have a copy of the wedding certificate.

Dorothy Taylor and Alan Wyllie, married 27 September 1916 in Cobden, Victoria

WYLIE*-TAYLOR 

The Cobden Methodist Church presented a very pretty site on Wednesday afternoon last, it being decorated with marguerites, lilies, lucerne blossom, ivy and evergreen.  Prominent among the decorations was an archway over the aisle and a streamer across the church with a wedding bell suspended.  The occasion was the marriage of Miss Dorothy Taylor, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Henry Taylor, of South Ecklin, with Mr Robert Alan Wylie, second son of Mr and Mrs Robert Wylie of Minyip.  The ceremony was performed by Rev. M. M. Bennett, in the presence of a large number of friends of the couple and spectators. As the bride entered the church, leaning on the arm of her father, Miss Ella McConachy played the ‘Wedding March’, and when the nuptial knot was tied, the choir and congregation sang the wedding hymn, ‘The Voice that breathed o’er Eden’, and at the close of the service the bridal company left the church to the accompaniment of the ‘Wedding March’, and amid a hail of confetti and rice. The bride was charmingly attired in a becoming crème silk dress, with pearl and net, and guipure trimming, and wore the customary wreath and veil, the latter being prettily finished and was a gift to the bride from her uncle (Mr Matthews) of Waterloo, New South Wales.  She carried a shower bouquet of white camelias, white perennial peas, asparagus fern, and a touch of forget-me-not, a special gift to the bride. The bridesmaids were Miss Wylie (sister of the bridegroom), and Miss Wyles (cousin of the bride), who were prettily gowned in dresses of embroidered voiles, and carried bouquets of pink and white sweet peas, blossom and asparagus fern.  The flowers of the bocquets were the gift of the bridegroom. The bridegroom’s best man was Mr Geo. Howarth. Mrs Taylor (mother of the bride) was suitably gowned in a tweed dress, finished with a scarf and brooch, sent by her soldier son from Ceylon: and hat to match.  Mrs Wylie (mother of the bridegroom) wore a black corded silk dress, black hat finished with heliotrope. After the ceremony at the invitation of the bride’s parents, the guests were entertained at a wedding breakfast, nicely laid out and prepared at Mrs J. Sincock’s tea rooms, a beautiful wedding cake occupying pride of place on the table.  Rev. Bennett presided and after full justice had been done to all the good things provided, proposed the toast of ‘The King’, followed by the toast of ‘The Bride and Bridegroom’, which was suitably acknowledged by the bridegroom.  The toast of ‘The Parents’ was proposed by Mr J. H. Searle (home missionary) and responded to by Mr Taylor.  ‘The Bridesmaids’ was proposed by the bridegroom, and acknowledged by his best man.  The chairman apologised for the absence of Mr Wylie, sen., who, owing chiefly to his son being at the front, could not leave the farm. The happy couple left Cobden by the afternoon ‘bus amid another shower of confetti, rice and good wishes.  They intend spending a months’ honeymoon in touring Victoria and Tasmania. The bride travelled in a black and white check costume, with hat to match and wore a set of furs, gift of her father, and carried a satin bag, gift of a cousin. Mr and Mrs Wylie’s future home will be at Carron. A number of handsome and useful presents were received, among which, besides those already mentioned, are the following:-Bridegroom to bride-Gold brooch, Bridegroom to bridesmaid-Gold bangle, Mother of bride-Dinner set, Mrs Maskell (aunt of bride)-Teapot, Mrs Matthews (aunt of bride)- Silver jewel case, Mrs Matthews (cousin of bride) cake dish, Miss Stewart (cousin of bride)-Silver brush and pin trays, Mrs J Johnson, South Ecklin- pair of cake dishes, Mrs Hensley- Pair silver vases, Misses B. and K. Hensley-Silver photo frame, Mr and Mrs Sorrenson- pair vases, Miss May Wyles- Tea set, Mr and Mrs Geo Howarth, Weerite- lamp, Miss Maskell- glass jug, Mr and Mrs R. Rogers- Box of handkerchiefs and collars.The Cobden Times and Heytesbury Advertiser October 1916. *This spelling of the surname is in some records but the family preferred the double 'l'.

But there is more to the story.

First, Dolly's wedding veil. I've highlighted the references to the veil in the newspaper transcript above. I have a handwritten note that I had scribbled in 1966 when I lived with my grandparents for a year. My parents lived on a farm and it was easier for me to board in town with my Nana and Grandad while I did my final year of high school. I was only 17 but was interested in family history even then and asked them both lots of questions and wrote down the answers. Of course I wish now I'd asked lots more but some is better than none. Anyway, one of the things Nana told me was that her aunt, Alice Matthews who was a dressmaker, made her wedding dress and veil. And that her cousin Alice (Aunt Alice's daughter) wore the same veil when she married in 1932. For a long time, probably not until the late 1980s, I didn't know where Aunt Alice Matthews fitted into the family. Dolly's father was an only child, I thought, and she certainly wasn't connected to her mother's family. But then research finally proved that Dolly's father actually had some half-siblings and one of them was Alice Matthews (nee Young) who lived near The Rock, New South Wales.

I also have a letter that Dolly's brother wrote to her earlier in 1916. David Taylor was an enlisted soldier who had been on Gallipoli and was writing from England before going to France. In it there is another clue about the wedding dress and veil.

2^nd April 1916
 Dear Dorothy
            I suppose you will think that I have forgotten you all but you see I have not  I often think of you all & wonder how you are all getting on & if you are still at S. K. the last letter that I got from Ruby she told me that she expected you down to stay the night with her on your way to N.S.W. & the last letter I got from Mother she was saying the Dad was up there & that you were going up shortly but that was a long time ago so I suppose you are back again by this time you might be married by this for all I know so you see that there must be a bundle of Australian letters for me some where for I have not had a letter since I left Anzac & that is some time ago now

I've highlighted the section of the letter where he is asking Dolly if she has been up to NSW yet. This is presumably a trip that she made from Cobden (probably by train) to her aunt's place to be fitted for her wedding dress.

Alice Matthews nee Young, the dressmaker who made Dolly's wedding dress and veil.

But there is more to the story.

In July 1916 the British infantry and the Australian 1^st Division had made costly attacks against Pozieres in France and the village had reduced to rubble. The 1^st Division lost 5285 officers and men in three days, and the exhausted men were replaced by the 2^nd Division on the  27 July 1916. In ten days they lost 6848 officers and men before they were relieved by the 4^th Division. David Taylor, Dolly's brother, was killed in this battle at Pozieres, on the 5 August, but his body was never identified. He is listed on the Memorial Wall at Villers-Bretonneux (Register Number 26).  

David Edgar Taylor

The Taylor family was informed that he was missing the day before Dolly's wedding. At least that was what I was told. So missing from the wedding guests were Dolly's brother David Taylor (missing, later declared killed, in action), another brother, James William Taylor (also serving in France), Alan's brother William Angus Wyllie (serving in France) and his father (who had to stay home on the farm). Alan wasn't allowed to enlist because his only brother was a soldier and farming was considered an essential industry. And sadly, Dolly's mother always believed that David would walk in the door one day.

Trove Tuesday: In which James Taylor's death is reported

Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth, Victoria), 12 Jan 1916

I'm confused.

Yesterday I found this notice, in a newspaper at Trove, announcing the death of my ancestor James Taylor. He died at Eldorado in Victoria where he'd been goldmining for many years.

I have his death certificate that has proved to be accurate about his birthplace, parents, occupation and marriage details. As I had expected the death certificate doesn't mention his illegitimate son, Henry (my great-grandfather). And it doesn't mention that the mother of said son (Emily) was the sister of his wife (Annie), but I know all of that is true because James provided the information on the birth certificate and acknowledged paternity. Annie was present at the birth. You might need to read that paragraph again to sort it out in your head, or read the rundown below instead.

1 James TAYLOR b: Abt. 1831 in Durham, Durham, England, d: 02 Jan 1916 in Eldorado, Victoria, Australia

... marr. Hepzibah Anne (Annie) CHAUNDY b: 09 Nov 1839 in St Aldate, Oxford, Oxford, England, m: 09 Apr 1864 in Beaufort, Victoria, Australia, d: 1920 in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia

... partner Emily Rachel CHAUNDY b: 03 Sep 1843 in St Aldate, Oxford, Oxford, England, d: 28 Mar 1928 in The Rock, New South Wales, Australia

........2 Henry TAYLOR b: 27 Jun 1869 in Eldorado, Victoria, Australia, d: 25 Jun 1950 in Echuca, Victoria,   Australia

Emily married someone else but Annie never did and when she died at Ferntree Gully (where her brother lived) she was still calling herself Taylor. Annie and James never had any children.

Now for the confusing part. I had assumed (silly me!) that Annie didn't stay with James although I've never found a divorce. But now I'm thinking that maybe she did stay because the newspaper notice states James 'leaves a wife, who is also well advanced in years'. Is it Annie or is it someone else living as James' wife. I wish the newspaper had given her a name.

[Update: I have now checked the Electoral Rolls and found Annie and James together at Eldorado. I'm wondering why I hadn't thought to check the rolls earlier! But my excuse is that now they're on Ancestry it's so much easier.]

Martha Taylor the midwife

Martha Taylor nee Brown is my great-grandmother. She grew up on a farm near Cobden in south-western Victoria and married Henry Taylor in 1893 when she was 19 years old.

Henry was a vegetable grower, a market gardener, and they lived at South Ecklin west of Cobden, then Cobden, also Lismore and in the Rochester district of northern Victoria. Ecklin is good farming country now but in those days the farmers had to clear an awful lot of trees and undergrowth off the land before they could start ploughing - it was hard work. And Martha worked hard too because she produced eight children and raised them all successfully. In doing so she must have learned a lot about childbirth and put the knowledge to good use by becoming a registered midwife. As far as I can work out she was a midwife for well over twenty years, using her own home as a 'private hospital'.

Martha Brown and Henry Taylor, 1893

Martha Taylor, Sylvester St, Cobden, with her chooks (chickens) and house cow.
The house in the background was her private hospital.

My friend Pam found the following entry for me when she was doing some indexing. I hadn't realised that midwives had to be registered.

Victorian Government Gazette, 26 May 1930.
It lists Martha Taylor as a registered midwife, her address, the date of her original registration (1918)
and the fact that she was involved in midwifery in 1913 (code 14b).

And I found this notice in the local newspaper report about council correspondence in 1917. Martha's residence is approved as a private hospital.

Camperdown Chronicle 15 Sep 1917

Martha (2nd r) and Henry Taylor (l) with family members in mid 1930s.

Martha Taylor with her daughter Dorothy Wyllie, my grandmother.

I wonder what sort of person Martha was. In the photos she looks very stern. She had dealt with some very sad events in her life, but she had also cared for a number of foster children as well as her own so must have been generous by nature I think. And I'd love to have a chat with her because I reckon she'd have some stories to tell.

Trove Tuesday: In which George Taylor is crushed

George Taylor and his sisters Alice and May

It makes me sad to look at photos like the one above because I know what their futures were. George, Alice and May are siblings of my grandmother Dolly. Alice and May lived to old age but George died when he was 23 years old.

George was a country lad, and in 1934 he went to Melbourne to work. He was working as a motor mechanic at O'Gilpin's in East Malvern when he was crushed by a truck against a wall. He had cranked the truck while it was still in gear.

I have found his death reported in two papers, and a report of his inquest a week or so later. All are quite short but vary in in accuracy and detail so I think there's a lesson there. Make sure you look at all published reports, not just the first one you find.

Sunshine Advocate, 6 Jul 1934

The Argus, 4 Jul 1934

The Argus, 12 Jul 1934

George TAYLOR, son of Henry TAYLOR and Martha BROWN was born on 20 Jun 1911 in Camperdown, Victoria, Australia. He died on 03 Jul 1934 in Footscray, Victoria, Australia.