Honouring war heroes
As a member of the Friends of Rookwood volunteer gardening group, over the last two Saturday fortnights we have been endeavoring to clean up graves in Sections 3 and 4 of the Old Anglican section which will be highlighted in the forthcoming Military Tour in November - details further on.
Some are commemorating those bodies that did not come home after WW1 or those that did and died earlier than perhaps, they should have due to their war injuries. There are others from WW2 and even some American Civil War veterans.
One grave I had worked on a few years back was in dire need of some TLC. The man buried there was a war hero, one most of us have never heard of and this blog honours him today.
RALPH NORMAN SPENDELOVE
Ralph was born in Toowong Queensland on the 4th of August 1890 to Benjamin James Spendelove and his second wife Amy Ann Benham. He was the third child in a family of six; two boys and four girls.
Benjamin was from Staffordshire England. He married Emma Heath in April 1883 and soon after he boarded the "Hampshire" with two of his sisters, arriving in Rockhampton Queensland in November 1883. Emma passed away in early 1885 and Benjamin married Amy Mary Benham in May that year. They remained in the area until the mid 1890's when they moved to Sydney NSW making their home in Ashfield.
Ralph enlisted on the 23 June 1915 at the age of 24 years and 10 months. His papers state he was 6ft 3ins and his occupation was an accountant.
Ralph Norman Spendelove - in uniform - ancestry.com via public access
His National Archives file indicates he had a few bouts of pneumonia during mid 1916 but he was back in the field upon recovery.
He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions on the 4th of May 1917 when near Bullecourt during a bombing attack he, (now a Lance Corporal and soon to be promoted to Sergeant), with Private McKeane bombed along a trench after the rest of his party had been killed or wounded, he hung on until a barricade had been constructed. Later in the night he crawled out and searched various shell holes where some of the enemy were suspected to be taking cover.
Ralph was later wounded in Action in France on the 4th of October 1917 in the vicinity of Ypres with a gunshot wound to the to the right leg and left hand, treated in the field then transferred to Canterbury England for hospital treatment. He then took advantage of furlough before attending the Tidworth School of Musketry in December and once completed undertook the Lewis Gun Course through to January 1918.
He rejoined his battalion in France on the 28th of March 1918.
Ralph then received a Bar to his Military Medal for his actions as gazetted..
"During the advance of his Company at Strazeele on the night of the 16th/17th of April 1918, two of the Company Lewis Guns were knocked out. Sergeant Spendelove personally took the Company Headqarters Lewis Gun and replace one of these. The other he assembled and got into action under intense shell fire. When all the Company Officers had become casualties, he repeated visited all the posts and helped to reorganise the different platoons. Later when severely wounded he refused to be carried away until all other cases had been cleared away. His courage and devotion to duty throughout the operation set a splendid example to all about him. Wounded left thigh, serious."
Commonwealth Gazette No. 191 dated 12 December 1918.
Ralph was invalided to England on the 22nd of April and the bottom third of his left leg was amputated as it had not healed. He had responded to treatment enough by the 20th of May to avail himself of furlough in June 1918. Ralph was designated for return to Australia due to his severe injuries and disembarked from the HMAT Karoola in Sydney on the 6th of September 1918.
He took up a position with Richardson and Wrench Real Estate Agents and carried out his duties for over a year. He became slightly ill which quickly escalated and died on the 25th of January 1921. He was just 30 years old.
It was reported that many of his old comrades attended the service and saw him laid to rest. He was greatly respected by all who knew him.
He low lies in Section 3 of the old Anglican area with his parents, Benjamin and Amy. Ralph Norman Spendelove also has a bronze plaque in the Garden of Remembrance.
The Military Tour will be held on Sunday the 3rd of November 2024 at 10am. It will run for @ 2.5 hours. Cost is $15 pp $10 per member and departs from the grassy area in the forecourt of the St Michael the Archangel Chapel on Necropolis Drive. For information and bookings please call Julie on 0419 986 589.
The cemetery has many commemorations on family graves and many marked and unmarked Military graves.
May they all RIP, their dark days are over.
For today's blog I have made reference to ancestry.com; NAA.gov.au; the AIF project; Rookwood Anzacs prepared by Sach Killam from various sources; Wikipedia; find-a- grave and various trove newspaper reports.
If you have any insights or comments to make about the contents of this blog, please add them below or via the Group Facebook Page found under
Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries
or send me a personal message via
lorainepunch@gmail.com
MAY THEY ALL REST IN PEACE
Until next week
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