Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Mary and the late John BIRD

EDGAR BIRD KILLED AT THE DARDANELLES
The following letter, written by Lieutenant J.M. Grant, bearing date of June 10th, from Gaba Tepe, addressed to T. G. Bird, Esq, Fifield, tells how another of our heroes fell.

"Dear Sir, I regret to have to inform you of the death of Lance Corporal Edgar Bird, who was killed by shell fire on the evening of the 3rd June. At the time of hs death your brother, with three others, was repairing one of the brigade's telephone lines, when a shell burst over them. Death was instantaneOus. For good work done on the day of our landing here, 25th April, he had been promoted to Lance-Corporal, and in him, I have lost one ibf my best and most reliable Non. Com. Officers."

BIRD -Killed in action, Dardanelles, Sapper Edgar E Bird No 86 Queensland Signal Engineers, aged 25, dearly beloved fourth son of Mr and Mrs John Bird, Glenlogie Fiifield, N.S.W. Inserted by his loving mother, father, and brothers

BIRD - Killed in action Dardanelles, Sapper Edgar E. Bird, No 86 Queensland Signal Engineers. He gave his life for his country. Inserted by his loving sister and brother-in-law, Elma and John Skinner, Caringya Park, Trundle.

 
#86  BIRD Edgar Ernest  1st Division Signals
 
Edgar Bird was born at Lexton, a small town north west of Ballarat to Mary and John Bird. The family moved to the Trundle District of NSW, north west of Parkes in time for young Edgar to attend school at the Trundle Public School.
 
As a young man, Edgar was a member of the local rifle club. He secured a job with the Postmaster General’s Department as a telephone and telegraph technician but then took up land in the Murgon District where he was farming when war broke out.
 
Edgar travelled to Brisbane to enlist on 22nd August 1914. His attestation papers show that he was 24 years and 10 months old, of slight stature and had named his father of Fifield, just outside Trundle, as his next of kin. Edgar gave his occupation as farmer but it soon became evident to the authorities that his skills with communications would be of great use to the newly forming AIF.
 
Edgar was soon placed in the Divisional signals company and was sent to Broadmeadows outside Melbourne for training. Two months after enlisting, Edgar boarded the “Karroo” at Port Melbourne for the voyage to Egypt. During the voyage, the sappers practiced using prismatic compasses and rifle shooting.
 
The “Karroo” sailed through the Suez Canal to Port Said and then on to Alexandria where the Signals Company disembarked and boarded a train for Cairo and the Australian Camp at Mena. Soon after arriving at Mena, the 1st Division Signals took over the responsibility for establishing lines of communications between the various brigade and battalion headquarters by laying cables and connecting to the telephones that had been installed by the Egypt Telephone Company. The signallers had also arrived in Egypt with their own transport consisting of horses and wagons. The war diary records that the horses had to be exercised daily. Throughout the first three months of 1915, the 4 brigades of the Australian and New Zealand Forces trained and exercised for the coming deployment to the Dardanelles. The war diary of the 1st Div. Signals for those three months is missing from the War Memorial Collection so it must be assumed that the signallers continued to work on developing schemes for establishing communication lines.
 
In early April, all of the Infantry began to board transports for Mudros Harbour on the Greek Island of Lemnos, where the men began to practice boat drills in anticipation of a landing under enemy fire on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The signallers landed with the 3 brigades on the morning of the 25th April and immediately began laying cables between the various headquarters. The 4th brigade landed the next day. This work was conducted under enemy fire and it is noted that Edgar performed exceptionally well on that day and was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.
 
The Signals War Diary records sketches of the various schemes employed during the last week of April and May. In many cases, schemes had to be redesigned as positions of headquarters changed or units were relieved.
 
The war diary records that on 3rd June 1915, LCpl Bird and Sapper Booth were killed, and corporal Knight was severely wounded whilst laying phone cable. Edgar was buried in the Shell Green Cemetery and a wooden cross was erected.
 
The family were advised rather promptly of Edgards death by his section commander and Edgar’s brother Thomas requested a death certificate from the authorities in order that Edgar’s property in Murgon could be disposed of. There is a deal of correspondence in Edgar’s file regarding this matter, including letters from the local federal parliamentarian.
 
When the Australian Graves Registration Unit arrived back at Anzac at the end of the war, a small permanent plaque was placed as a headstone on Edgar’s grave.