Cyril George BARTRAM [1889 - 1947]

Cyril George BARTRAM
born 14 August 1889 at 5 Hull Street in
Richmond, Victoria, Australia.

his parents were:

George Andrew BARTRAM
and
Isabella SHANDS

Cyril had three sisters and four brothers
one brother, Percy William Henry BARTRAM 

died in 1879 as an infant.

the other three brothers were all KIA during WW1

Reginald Percy BARTRAM [1880 - 1917]
Raymond Everard BARTRAM [1893 - 1917]

Arnold Roy BARTRAM [1895 - 1917]

Cyril's sisters were:

Evelyn Constance BARTRAM [1883 - 1940]

Ethel Murial BARTRAM [1891 - 1955]
Clarice Edna BARTRAM [1896 - 1943]

in 1916 - prior to his enlistment - Cyril married 

Eliza MacGregor MURRAY

on the 31st March 1916
Cyril George BARTRAM 

applied to enlist in the AIF.
he was aged 26 years and 7 months at the time and
was residing at 'Inverness' in Gillies Street, Fairfield.

He was not accepted until 1st May 1916

Cyril was given the service number of 2126 and was allocated to the 58th Battalion.
 
He declared that he had never been convicted by the Civil Power, nor had he ever been rejected as unfit for His Majesty's Service. 

Cyril was 5' 9 1/2" tall, weighed 140 lbs, had chest measurements of 34 - 37", his complexion was fresh, eyes were blue and he had brown hair.   His religion was Congregational.   He had vaccination marks, 4 on his left arm, 1 on his right.   He had moles on his left cheek.   He was considered fit for active service on 31 Mar 1916 but there is a handwritten annotation "Dental Treatment" on his Medical Examination.   (Perhaps dental treatment was required before he was accepted?)

Two months later - 1st August 1916 - Cyril embarked from Melbourne aboard the HMAT Orsova with the 4th Reinforcements alongside his brother - Arnold Roy BARTRAM - also in the 58th Battalion.

HMAT ORSOVA

by the time the Orsova reached Plymouth in the September, Cyril was ill with influenza and was immediately transferred to the Military Hospital, Devonport, England on 14 Sep 1916, "Sick (slight)" and transferred to 3 Auxiliary Hospital on 28 Nov 1916.  He was discharged from 3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, Weymouth on 13 Dec 1916.

By the 25th January 1917 Cyril was admitted to the Fargo Hospital in Salisbury. He was dangerously ill with post-cerebro meningitis.

Cyril George Bartram returned to Australia embarking England on 27 Jul 1917  on board HMAT A64 "Demosthenes" and disembarked, Melbourne, on 24 Sep 1917 suffering Spinal Meningitis.  He was discharged at Melbourne on 26 Oct 1917.

Cyril was awarded the British War Medal but his documents show it was returned, 19 May 1923.  There is no indication of it being issued later, nor is there any explanation offered.  He was not eligible for the 1914-15 Star, (he joined too late), nor the Victory Medal, (he did not enter a theatre of war on duty).  

in 1925 he and his wife were residing at "Raymond", 59 Red Bluff Street, Sandringham.  Cyril was listed as an 'accountant' and Eliza as 'home duties' in the 1924 census.

In December 1925 he was the "officer in charge of the war pensions section".

By December 1927 - Cyril had become Mayor of Sandringham. He was 39 years of age.

See attached from The Argus Newspaper at the time.

"A by-election was held yesterday to fill a vacancy in the Black Rock ward representation on the Sandringham Council, caused by the death of Councillor W. G. Knott, Cyril George Bartram was elected by a majority of 51 votes. He obtained XXX votes and his opponent William Westfield."

The wife of Cyril - Eliza BARTRAM (nee MURRAY) - died in 1942 aged 51 years.

According to the 1943 census, Cyril was listed as an accountant at 9 Stanhope St, Sandringham.

Cyril George BARTRAM died from Cancer of the Oesophagus on 21st January 1947 and was buried at the Cheltenham Cemetery on 22nd January.

a tree commemorates the 58th Battalion of World War One at The Shrine of Remembrance in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.

the blog posts on Cyril's three brothers are located below:


Arnold Roy BARTRAM

Reginald Percy BARTRAM

Raymond Everard BARTRAM

 
as always, these blog posts are only possible with the generous help and support from the Australian War Memorial, The Australian Defence Force, The National Archives and various family members.

..

Reginald Percy Bartram [1880 - 1917]

Reginald Percy BARTRAM 

was born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia in 1880 

to George Andrew BARTRAM and Isabella SHANDS.

Reginald enlisted in the AIF 
on 25 August 1916 at Royal Park.
service # 6955
8th Battalion, 23rd Reinforcement

He embarked from Melbourne on board 

HMAT A20 Hororata on 23 Nov 1916

Reginald Percy Bartram  

was killed in action in 

The Battle of Broodseinde at 

Passchendaele, Ypres, Belgium

on Thursday October 4 1917

As a boy, Reginald attended St James Grammar School in Melbourne and his occupation at the time of enlistment was that of a compositor.

He married Lucy Mary BOUGHTON (sometimes spelt as BROUGHTON) on 11 Jan 1905 at the Presbyterian Church in Richmond.

a little about Lucy.....

Lucy was born in December 1881 in Worcestershire, England, her parents being Ellen WYATT and William Blockley BOUGHTON, a surgeon. She married Reginald BARTRAM in 1905 when she was 23 years of age and bore him three sons:

Ernest in 1906, Reginald in 1908 and then William in 1910.

Now at this point I am unsure of why Lucy was admitted to the Mont Park Asylum in 1910 or maybe soon after the birth of William. Perhaps she suffered from Post Natal Depression?

as noted in a letter from Reginald BARTRAM to the Army Base Records in Melbourne on December 6 1916,  she had been at Mont Park for 7 years and there is a query as to where she died in 1964 at Ararat. Was she a patient of the Ararat Asylum too?

We also know that Reginald Bartram placed two of his sons in the Melbourne Orphan Asylum prior to his departure for overseas duty. The youngest child - William - died in 1925 and is buried at the Old Cheltenham Cemetery. I am still doing research on the two older boys, Ernest and Reginald.

According to one letter sent to the War Office in 1918 by Reginald's sister, Evelyn Constance DINGEY (nee BARTRAM) it suggests that she has the care of all three of them.

(as seen in images below)

and later in his Army Records it is noted that he has changed his 'next of kin' to his sister - Evelyn Constance Bartram

It is hard to imagine what these two young boys would have gone through ...... mother in the Asylum and had been for at least 7 years, their paternal grandmother had recently died, their father heading off to war and they were being placed in an orphanage - and to them, unloved and unwanted. So incredibly sad.  Yet the above letter suggests otherwise.

But I do wonder what happened to them and 

where they ended up?

even the memorial notice in the Argus Newspaper in 1919 "suggests" that the three boys were with Evelyn and her husband - William Dingley - at that time.

"dearly loved daddy of Ernest, Reggie and Willie"

In one letter from the AIF to Lucy (wife of Reginald) states the effects of Reginald's being disc, belt, photo case, letters, note book, cards,book of views, badges, testament were dispatched per the Barunga on 20th Jun 1918 in case number 1106.

But sadly, especially for his sons - on 15 Jul 1918 - the Barunga was hit by a torpedo from a German submarine 150 miles south west of the Scilly Isles and Reginald's personal effects were 'lost at sea'.

The Barunga was on its way to Australia with 800 sick and wounded on board and was torpedoed at 4.30 pm on 15 July 1918.

Destroyers which had been some miles away were quickly on the scene to pick up survivors and returned them to Plymouth. All hands were saved before Barunga subsequently sank.

SS Barunga was formerly the German-Australian liner Sumatra of Hamburg, captured at Sydney, NSW, at the outbreak of war. She was requisitioned by the Australian Government and during the period 1915 -1918 was used to transport troops and or produce in various areas.


OCTOBER 1917....

The battle in which Reginald was killed, was bloody and fierce and many an article can be found on the web of the Battle's of Broodseinde and Passchendaele.

The very day Reginald was killed, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Australian Divisions captured Broodseinde Ridge on 4 October 1917. 

It was a vital victory. But, then it began to rain. 

Five days later the 2nd Australian Division suffered heavily in a further attack in the mud. Finally, on 12 October, another attack, involving the 3rd Division assisted by the 4th, was made against the village of Passchendaele atop the main ridge. In the face of heavy fire, the men fought in the mire while struggling to keep up with their artillery barrages. Ground was taken but it could not be held. In wretched conditions, with casualties mounting at an appalling rate, the Australians had to fall back. 

The troops were finally exhausted and could do no more; by 15 November they handed over to the Canadians.

image above:
main image is of Reginald Percy Bartram

top right:
Machine gunners of the 4th Australian Division, Garter Point, 

Ypres, Belgium, 27 September 1917.

second from top:
Dead and wounded Australians and Germans 

in the railway cutting on Broodseinde Ridge, 

in the Ypres sector, Belgium, during the battle of Passchendaele.

lower right:
Broodseinde with four German shells exploding near the Australian trenches


The following image is of the Red Cross Missing in Action Cards from members of Reginald's Battalion in the hopes of identifying where he was buried.

*Bartram was killed by a shell which went right through him in Passchendaale.

*I was in the same advance. A shell exploded near casualty, killing him instantly.

*I did not see casualty killed, but I saw his body the same afternoon as I was going for water.

*He was at the Menin Road on 4th October, we attacked at daybreak. Bartram was laying in a shell hole on "no mans land".

above image
YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL,
 Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

 Panel 7 - 17 - 23 - 25 - 27 - 29 - 31

Bartram Reginald Percy
K.I.A Thursday, 4th October 1917
    36yrs
Son of George Andrew and Isabella Bartram;
husband of Lucy M. Bartram.
Native of Richmond, Victoria.

........................................................................

I have often thought that many a youngster when he was hit out there 

on the Passchendaele heights and he knew that the end had come,

must have thought to himself:

“well at least they’ll remember me in Australia”.

C.E.W. Bean

Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean 

(18 November 1879 – 30 August 1968), 

usually identified as C.E.W. Bean, 

was an Australian schoolmaster, judge's associate, barrister  

journalist, war correspondent and historian.

Bean is renowned as the editor of the 12-volume
Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918. Bean wrote Volumes I to VI
himself, dealing with the 

Australian Imperial Force at Gallipoli, France and Belgium. 

Bean was instrumental in the establishment of the Australian War Memorial, 

and of the creation and popularisation of the ANZAC legend.

the three BARTRAM brothers were all killed in 1917

Arnold Roy BARTRAM d. 13 May 1917 France

Raymond Everard BARTRAM d. 07 June 1917 Belgium

Reginald Percy BARTRAM d. 04 Oct 1917 Belgium

click on each of the brothers for the blog posting
and a cousin of "The Bartram Brothers"

- Leslie Norman Krause -

we will remember them

UPDATE: 7th October 2013:
with further research have located some information on the two surviving sons of Reginald Percy BARTRAM.

Ernest George BARTRAM was born in Brunswick in 1906. In May 1921, according to the letter from Evelyn Bartram, Ernie Bartram was 'traveling' at the time the Army wanted to pass on his fathers medals. So perhaps he did not receive his fathers medals.

In the Electoral Rolls of 1937, I located one Ernest George BARTRAM as residing at 64 Union St, Prahran. But this is NOT CONFIRMED as being the same person.

In the Electoral Rolls of 1980, I located one Ernest George BARTRAM as residing at 17 Langston St, Bendigo. But this is NOT CONFIRMED as being the same person.

no further information on Ernest George BARTRAM has come to hand.

Reginald Arthur BARTRAM was born in Brunswick in 1908. I have not had much success in locating any information on him, but on checking the Electoral Rolls of 1937 I see a person by the name of Reginald Arthur BARTRAM residing on his own at 6 Alison Rd, Caulfield West. Then In 1980 a person by this name is residing alone at 8 Laburnum St, Blackburn.

So went back to the 1949 Electoral Roll and see a Reginald Arthur BARTRAM residing with a person by the name of Marcelle Louise BARTRAM.  I checked on this person and note that she was born in Malvern on 26 Aug 1909 and died at Blackburn on 26th April 1974.

There is NO CONFIRMATION that the Reginald Arthur BARTRAM is the same as the one I am looking for.

Admittedly the name BARTRAM is not common, and I doubt there would be anyone else by this name in Victoria, Australia.

But until I can confirm it, will leave it here to be noted only.

with grateful thanks to Robert Matthews for the extra help and guidance!

and to the National Archives and the
Australian War Memorial

for the data that is on their websites that is
invaluable to all genealogists.

UPDATE 22nd July 2014:

Reginald Percy Bartram's name will be projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory at the AWM in Canberra on:

• Thu 14 August, 2014 at 8:07 pm
• Sat 27 September, 2014 at 10:41 pm
• Wed 19 November, 2014 at 8:55 pm
• Tue 13 January, 2015 at 8:39 pm
• Sat 7 March, 2015 at 12:59 am
• Wed 22 April, 2015 at 3:47 am
• Tue 2 June, 2015 at 11:27 pm
• Fri 10 July, 2015 at 6:04 am

These dates and times are estimates. The actual time of projection could change as a result of weather and other factors, so it is advisable to check closer to the date. In the rare event of a temporary loss of electrical power, the names scheduled for display in that period will not appear until the next time listed.

...................................

Arnold Roy BARTRAM [1895 - 1917]

.
Arnold Roy BARTRAM

was born in Richmond,  Victoria, Australia

in 1895 to
 George Andrew BARTRAM and Isabella SHANDS
.
 

George and Isabella were married on 27 August 1878 in Richmond, Victoria, Australia and had seven children. 

As a young boy, Arnold attended the Yarra Park State School in East Melbourne.

Yarra Park State School.
Date(s) of creation: [ca. 1900]
State Library of Victoria

He was a 21 year old Shipping Clerk and living with his parents at 9 Hull St, Richmond when he enlisted in the AIF on 6 June 1916. Private Bartram at that time was assigned to the 58th Battalion.

Both Arnold and his brother Cyril, were in the 58th Battalion, 4th Reinforcement.

He embarked from Melbourne for Plymouth per the H.M.A.T. "Orsova," on the 1st of August 1916 with the 4th reinforcements and then proceeded to France per the "Princess Henrietta," on the 6th of December 1916.

H. M. A. T. "Orsova,"

O5 January 1917 Arnold was "taken on strength" to the 60th Battalion in the field at Fribourt, France.

According to the unit diary - on the 14th January they left Ribmount at 8:30am and marched through Buire to Fricourt Camp where they could shower and enjoy a hot meal ... after all, it was not the best of days to be out 'walking'. The day was quite cold and snow had been falling for at least three hours.

winter of 1917 (thanks to the AWM)

By the 24th January the 60th Bn was at Needle Trench (near Lesboeufs) in France. The morning seemed to be 'quiet' but by the afternoon Needle Trench was being heavily shelled. The 60th Battalion asked for retaliation which was successful in stopping the enemy's shelling.

The 60th Battalion were around Longueval for the first couple of weeks of February, when they then moved on to the Flers area. Longueval is near where the Battle of Delville Wood took place in late 1916.

Enemy artillery was active throughout the cold and frosty night of 4th March, where they were still in the Flers area.  Arnold was admitted to hospital for gastroenteritis on the 13th of March, but back with his Battalion the following week. By the 18th the 60th Bn had evacuated and moved onto Fremicourt where they stayed until 25th March.

During the month of April, the Battalion moved from Beaulencourt, St Aubin, then back to Beaulencourt and onto Mametz where they arrived at 5:00pm on 20th April.  The complete Battalion was engaged in camp cleaning & cleansing of persons and stayed at Mametz for the duration of April.

the above map will guide you as to the 60th Battalion movements 
during the first half of 1917
which also shows the movement of Arnold Bartram during this time, where he was KIA and where buried.

A - Lesboeufs - January 1917

B - Mametz - April 1917

C - Fricourt - January 1917

D - Longueval - January 1917

E - Haplincourt - March 1917

F - Beulencourt - April 1917

G - Noreuil - May 1917 - KIA at the second Battle of Bullecourt.

H - Grevillers Cemetery - where buried.

With the month of May came the first touch of Spring. The unit diary even makes note of the weather: 

02 May 1917 - Fine clear spring day......
03 May 1917 - weather fine, though rather overcast with strong NE winds......
04 May 1917 - fine, warm & clear day with little wind......
05 May 1917 - fine, warm and overcast. ...
06 May 1917 - fine, warm & windy.

On the 10th May the 60th Battalion were at Noreuil and at 10:00am the diary notes that the men were improving their dugouts & clearing up the area they were occupying.

By 9:00pm D Company - who were located in a sunken road on the opposite  side of the village were subjected to some heavy shelling. One killed and four wounded... and the following day the forward area was still under constant shell fire.

At 12:30am on the morning of 12th May 1917, B & C Company (Arnold was in C Company)  marched forward and took over front and support line trenches from 58th Battalion. At 2.30am the enemy was shelling the support line heavily. According to the diary, the stretcher bearers "did a splendid job" in carrying out the wounded. Total: 13 Killed in Action and 71 Wounded.
 

This is when Arnold received a gun shot wound to the abdomen - in the Second Battle of Bullecourt - on the 12th of May 1917.

He died of his wounds on the 13th of May 1917 aged 21 years. 

He was first buried in the soldiers grave between Noreuil & Vaulx. Later buried at Greveillers British Cemetery (actual date NK)

Inscription:
Australian Infantry, A.I.F.

Grevillers British Cemetery
Grevillers
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region, France
Plot: II. E. 2.

The Bartram Brothers at war

Informal outdoors portrait of three Bartram brothers who have met up whilst on active service, from Richmond, Vic. 

Identified left to right: 6955 Private (Pte) Reginald Percy Bartram, 37th Battalion; 2304 Pte Arnold Roy Bartram, 60th Battalion; and probably 2682 Sergeant (Sgt) Raymond Everard Bartram, 46th Battalion. Pte Reginald Bartram was killed in action in Belgium on 4 October 1917 aged 36 years. Pte Arnold Bartram died of gun shot wounds in France on 13 May 1917 aged 21 years. Sgt Raymond Bartram enlisted as a private on 3 July 1915 and embarked from Melbourne with 8th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion, aboard SS Makarini on 15 September 1915. From October 1915 until 26 December 1915 he was dangerously ill with an appendicitis. In March 1916 he transferred to the 46th Battalion and on 8 December 1916 he was promoted to corporal. On 26 May 1917 he was promoted to sergeant. He was killed in action in Belgium on 7 June 1917 aged 23 years. Another brother 2126 Private (Pte) Cyril George Bartram, 58th Battalion, returned to Australia on 27 July 1917 due to constant illness.

Blog post on Raymond Everard Bartram has been updated  and can be found here.

Reginald Percy Bartram is located here.

and the cousin of "The Bartram Brothers" Leslie Norman Krause  also has a blog post here.

Arnold Roy Bartram's name will be projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory at the AWM in Canberra on:

• Fri 5 September, 2014 at 2:57 am
• Thu 23 October, 2014 at 3:09 am
• Tue 16 December, 2014 at 2:48 am
• Mon 9 February, 2015 at 1:02 am
• Tue 31 March, 2015 at 10:57 pm
• Tue 12 May, 2015 at 8:37 pm
• Sun 21 June, 2015 at 3:34 am
• Tue 28 July, 2015 at 8:31 pm

These dates and times are estimates.
The actual time of projection could change as a result of weather and other factors, so it is advisable to check closer to the date.
In the rare event of a temporary loss of electrical power, the names scheduled for display in that period will not appear until the next time listed.

.