BRIDSON, Hugh Ridgway
| Service Number: | 33038 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | Field Artillery Brigades |
| Born: | Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia, 1884 |
| Home Town: | Manly, Manly Vale, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Bank accountant |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 7 June 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Vignacourt British Cemetery, Picardie Plot III, Row D, Grave No. 14. HE DIED AS HE LIVED NOBLY FROM HIS SORROWING MOTHER |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Manly War Memorial NSW, Newcastle Surf Club Life Saving Brigade Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 33038, Field Artillery Brigades | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 1917: | Involvement Gunner, 33038, Field Artillery Brigades, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 11 May 1917: | Embarked Gunner, 33038, Field Artillery Brigades, HMAT Shropshire, Melbourne | |
| 7 Jun 1918: | Involvement Gunner, 33038, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 33038 awm_unit: 15th Australian Field Artillery Battery awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1918-06-07 |
Help us honour Hugh Ridgway Bridson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Hugh was the eldest of three sons of Hugh Ridgway Bridson and Minnie Bridson, of Manly, NSW, who enlisted and fought overseas during WW1. Only one of the boys survived.
His younger brother, 11917 Dvr. James Arthur Bridson 9th Field Ambulance, Australian Army Medical Corps had been killed in action 8 April 1917, aged 26.
Before enlisting, Gunner Hugh Ridgeway Bridson was accountant, and for some time acting manager, of the Manly branch of the Australian Bank of Commerce. His father and younger brothers were also both involved in banking and accounting.
Hugh Ridgway Bridson, was well known in Narrandera, having been teller and accountant at the Narrandera Branch of the Australian Bank of Commerce, for some time, and it was reported during his term there made himself very popular. From Narrandera he was transferred to the Newcastle Branch, and while in Newcastle made himself a name in amateur athletics. From Newcastle he was promoted to Manly, from where he enlisted.
Gunner Hugh Bridson served with the 5th Field Artillery Brigade on the Western Front from September 1917. He was severely gassed at a Battery position near Ribemont in France, on 1 June 1918, along with about thirty other men of the unit. He was taken to the 20th Casualty Clearing Station near Vignacourt but died of gas poisoning on 7 June 1918.
Harry Bridson, the sole surviving son, was sent home to Australia in late 1918, for ‘family reasons’ due to the death of his two brothers.
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