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In memory of Private Sydney Edmund Ellis, Australian Imperial Forces (Lest we forget)

10/22/2017

10 Comments

 
Hooge Crater Cemetery. The emblem of the Australian Imperial Forces on private Sydney Edmund Ellis' gravestone.
Hooge Crater Cemetery. The emblem of the Australian Imperial Forces on private Sydney Edmund Ellis' gravestone.

Sydney Edmund Ellis' short time in the line

Australian Imperial Forces, Private Sydney Edmund Ellis, 4825
Private Sydney Edmund Ellis, with his sons. Source portrait (photo edited): https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10326068
100 years ago today, October 22 1917, private Sydney Edmund Ellis was killed in action near Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke during the battle of Passchendaele. He was 28 years old.

​Sydney Edmund Ellis, son of John and Jane, was a young man from West End, Brisbane, Queensland. ​
​
He was a father of two sons, Sydney Reginald and Arthur Irwin Ellis.  His widow, Zilla Ellis, gave birth to his daughter Irene May Ellis following his embarkation in February 1917.
​​
He enlisted on October 24, 1916, at the age of 27. He was finally assigned to 4th Australian Machine Gun Company. He arrived at the front near Ypres, Belgium, on the 17th of  October 1917,  only a few days before his death. 
​
On the 22th of October, private Sydney Edmund Ellis was resting in a dug out near Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, when a direct hit from a shell killed him and two other soldiers. 

Detail Trench map, Anzac Ridge
Source: ​http://maps.nls.uk  (http://maps.nls.uk/view/101464912)
Their fellow comrades dug them out but they were blown almost beyond recognition, as declared by several eye witnesses and written down by the Australian Red Cross.
Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files. Source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10094019
Soon after their death, these 3 soldiers were buried right on the spot where they were killed. The grave was marked with a wooden cross. 
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, Private Sydney Edmund Ellis 1st grave
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke. I found the coordinates of his original burial place on the website of the CWGC (J.3.C.1.6.on map 28 N.E.). The exact location was not accessible due to private ground. The position of the original grave would have been right behind the houses in the far distance of this picture.

Anzac Ridge today

This part of Anzac Ridge is situated near the crossing of the Grote Molenstraat en the Lotegatstraat  in Zonnebeke. Once a fortified German strongpoint with trenches and bunkers, now a peaceful place with farms and fields. 
​
These days the barbwire is not used for wounding or strangling attacking soldiers but to keep the cows from escaping. Only the shrapnel that is mingled with the earth is a small reminder of what happened here one hundred years ago.
cow, barb wire, View from Anzac Ridge towards the church of Zonnebeke.
View from Anzac Ridge towards the church of Zonnebeke.
Anzac House. A German observation bunker.
Anzac House. A German observation bunker.  
​Source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1015609
Anzac House today. The German observation bunker was situated here.
Anzac House today. The German observation bunker was situated here.
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, Lotegatstraat.
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, Lotegatstraat.
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, Lotegatstraat.
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, Lotegatstraat.
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, Lotegatstraat.
Anzac Ridge, Zonnebeke, Lotegatstraat.
View from Anzac Ridge towards the village of Zonnebeke. On the right is the location of Garter Point.
View from Anzac Ridge towards the village of Zonnebeke. On the right is the location of Garter Point.
Anzac Ridge. ​Garter Point is in the far distance of this picture.
Anzac Ridge.
​Garter Point is in the far distance of this picture.

Hooge Crater Cemetery, his final resting place

The remains of private Sydney Edmund Ellis were found after the war and reburied at Hooge Crater Cemetery in Zillebeke, Belgium. His grave is situated in Plot XVIII C.3. 
Hooge Crater Cemetery. Gravestone private Sydney Edmund Ellis, Australian Imperial Forces.
Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium
Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium
Hooge Crater Cemetery. Gravestone private Sydney Edmund Ellis, Australian Imperial Forces.
Hooge Crater Cemetery. Gravestone private Sydney Edmund Ellis, Australian Imperial Forces.

Lest we forget

​Sydney Edmund's older brother, Arthur Edward Ellis, used his name to enlist in 1914 and was therefore registered as Private Sydney Ellis #501 of the 8th Battalion, AIF. Private Sydney Ellis #501 was a survivor of the battle of Pozières but was badly wounded on the 25th of July 1916, during the battle itself.​  We would like to give a special thanks to the daughter of Arthur Edward Ellis (a.k.a. Private Sydney Ellis #501).  If it wasn't for her reaction to our blogpost on the battle of Pozières, we would have never known the stories of Sydney Edmund Ellis and his brother. 

Join us in remembering private Sydney Edmund Ellis and all the other Australians who fought or were killed far from home. Lest we forget!

Thank you for sharing our blogpost.


​Tom and Sarah
Picture
Battlefield Photography
Sources
https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com
​https://www.awm.gov.au
https://www.cwgc.org

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10 Comments
Helen Ellis link
10/22/2017 01:38:53

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this blog - my heart spills over with emotion. The details and photographs of my uncle's manner and place of death help me to understand, as I remember the link of love (and grief) that so profoundly bonded my dad to his brother up until his own death. Thank you.

Reply
Battlefield Photography
10/23/2017 14:18:51

Dear Hellen. Thank you for your kind words. It was done with pleasure. It is you we need to thank for keeping Sydney's memory alive. I promise I'll drop by his grave everytime I visit by Hooge Crater Cemetery from now on.

Our best regards,

Tom and Sarah

Reply
Helen Ellis
11/27/2017 01:10:13

I would like to drop by one day myself Tom and Sarah. My uncle and I did not meet in our shared lifetimes; yet my memories of my dad, and now his family, make 'Sydney' very real. I go to see my dad, who rests in the WW1 War Graves section of Rookwood cemetery, Sydney. An attendant I have come to know over the years always says hello and has commented 'you are the only person who comes here - nobody comes here'! I first visited my dad's grave with my mum shortly after his death over 62 years ago and continue to do so. It saddens me deeply that honouring our returned servicemen, whose sacrifice and suffering was unimaginable to comprehend for most people, to continue after their return, is so unacknowledged and neglected here at home. Thank you both for all you do to ensure they are not forgotten!

Helen Ellis link
10/24/2017 11:35:25

A small correction to the last paragraph for my uncle Sydney Edmund Ellis. My dad, Arthur Edward Ellis a.k.a. Private Sydney Ellis #501, took part in the attack on Pozieres on 23 July, 1916 and was severely wounded on 25 July, 1916. He survived. My thanks to Pozieres Remembrance Association for their dedication to honouring this battle.

Reply
Battlefield Photography
10/25/2017 21:13:04

Thanks for your reaction Helen. Correction is done.

Best regards
Tom

Joan Dawson
10/22/2017 10:34:42

Such a moving reflection of this man’s plight. Thank you for what you are doing. We must remember them.

Reply
Battlefield Photography
10/23/2017 14:24:32

Thanks you Joan for your kind words. We must indeed remember them. Everyday.

Our best regards,

Tom and Sarah

Reply
John Ellis
9/10/2019 08:18:45

I knew very little of this history or how to obtain it until I went to get my grandfathers medals mounted by Bob and Brenda Dadd at Kippa Ring Qld., who were generous enough to send me the links. These medals were left to me from my father, Sydney Reginald Ellis.
Thank You.

Reply
Helen Dorothy Ellis
9/10/2019 09:23:08

This description was posted by the Australian War Memorial in Discovering Anzacs for my dad, 501 Private Sydney Ellis (Arthur Edward Ellis) and 4825 Sydney Edmund Ellis - plus photographs -
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501 Private Sydney Ellis
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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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Official record
Ellis Sydney Edmund : SERN 4825 : POB Melbourne VIC : POE Brisbane QLD : NOK W Ellis Zilla
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Related records
Ellis Sydney : SERN 501 : POB Adelaide SA : POE Broadmeadows VIC : NOK Mathers Mr W
Ellis Sydney : SERN 501 : POB Adelaide SA : POE Broadmeadows VIC : NOK Mathers Mr W

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501 Private Sydney Ellis
Posted by helenellis33, Thursday, 18 December 2014

4825 Private Sydney Edmund Ellis, 4th Coy, Australian Machine Gun Corps, A.I.F. KIA 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele.
Photographed with his two young sons prior to his deployment (see below description by the Australian War Memorial).
Younger brother of 501 Private Sydney Ellis (Arthur Edward Ellis), two sons of the Ellis Family of Daylesford, Victoria, Australia.


501 Private Sydney Ellis, 8th Battalion A.I.F., 1st Australian Division, 2nd Australian Infantry Brigade.
Served in Egypt, Gallipoli, London, France (soldier standing).
Rightful birth name Arthur Edward Ellis, enlisted in 1914 using the name of his younger brother, Sydney Edmund Ellis, to become 501 Private Sydney Ellis.

Helen Dorothy Ellis is the daughter and youngest surviving direct descendant of 501 Private Sydney Ellis.
Corporal Raymond Sydney Ellis, B Coy, 1RAR, Vietnam, 1965-66, (deceased) is the son of 501 Private Sydney Ellis and older brother of Helen Dorothy Ellis.

John there is a website called Discovering Anzacs. There you will find information and a photograph for both your grandfather 4825 Private Sydney Edmund Ellis and my father (Sydney's older brother) 501 Private Sydney Ellis (birth name Arthur Edward Ellis). It is my belief that Sydney Reginald Ellis and Sydney Irwin Ellis were the sons of 4825 Sydney Edmund Ellis.

+Add a comment
description of photo in Australian War Memorial.
Posted by helenpre, Monday, 26 October 2015
Studio portrait of 4825 Private (Pte) Sydney Edmond Ellis, 4th Machine Gun Company, of South Brisbane, Queensland, with his sons, Sydney Reginald and Arthur Irwin Ellis. A fruiterer prior to enlistment on 24 October 1916, Pte Ellis embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Wiltshire (A18) on 7 February 1917. He was killed in action in Belgium on 22 October 1917, aged 29 and is buried in Hooge Crater Cemetery, Zillebeke. His widow, Zilla

Reply
Helen Ellis
9/11/2019 13:57:51

Message for John Ellis - please accept my apologies for the reference material also posted here. Unfortunately I cannot delete it. The comments give information about 4825 Sydney Edmund Ellis (my uncle). Thank you very much for contacting me - it is truly a pleasure to hear from someone so close in blood to my dad (it is the anniversary of his death today). His name was Arthur Edward.

Reply



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