FINDLAY, Valentine Joseph
| Service Numbers: | 2043, 7579 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 September 1914, 5th Reinforcements |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wilcannia, Central Darling - New South Wales, Australia, 14 February 1891 |
| Home Town: | Quipolly, Liverpool Plains, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stockman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 24 April 1918, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Meteren Military Cemetery Plot V, Row F, Grave No. 730, Meteren Military Cemetery, Meteren, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2043, 4th Infantry Battalion, 5th Reinforcements | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Apr 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2043, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2043, 4th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 11 May 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2043, 4th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, GSW Foot resulting in evacuation to Malta then UK | |
| 19 Jan 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2043, 4th Infantry Battalion, RTA Embarked on HMAT Star of England | |
| 26 Apr 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2043, 4th Infantry Battalion, HQ 2MD Base Records List No. 52 | |
| 2 Oct 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7579, 10th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted Adelaide | |
| 30 Oct 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 7579, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 7579, 10th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918, KIA 24th April 1918 near Meteren Flanders |
Great Uncle Valentine
My name is MIchelle Burrell my great grandmother was Katey Moorara Findley (spelling mistake at birth should be Findlay).I do not remember her but I lived with her daughter Ray née Simmonds Ison for a few years when I was younger.Our family was always very proud of war service and of being Australian as my nan’s brother Simmy fought in Ww2,Crete,Libya and the Middle East.
My family are from Western Australia but my nan’s family the Findlay née Brannan’s were from NSW.
What I knew from my nan was that her mum Katey had lost two brother’s in Ww1.That was all anyone knew and nothing of what had become of the rest of the family except that Katey visited her sister Nel or Helen Findlay on the train in NSW after Katey had moved to WA in about 1905.
I started to do some research h on the Findlay’s about three years ago after I moved from WA to Qld to live for about 7 years.I have visited Wilcannia where the Findlay children were born,it would have been a grand town in its day on the banks of the Darling River but now it is almost destitute,rundown and the Darling river is so dry.
Valentine’s parents John Hogg Findlay was born in Kincardineshire Scotland 🏴 and his mother Jane Brannan or Brennan we are not sure was born in County Armagh Northern Ireland.They were married in Wentworth NSW which is still a pretty country town.I suspect Valentine’s father John Hogg Findlay May have been a bigamist as there is a passage in the police gazette around the time they were married from another Mrs Findlay looking for her husband a carpenter and John H Findlay father of two children who had gone missing in Wentworth leaving her in Sydney I think.Me thinks too much of a coincidence.Valentine also had a brother Kenneth James Findlay who also served in Gallipoli and the Western front like Valentine.
In my research Valentine Joseph and Kenneth James Findlay both had two separate war enlistment numbers.I think and have researched they enlisted fought at Gallipoli were pensioned out then rejoined in different states.They were then sent to France and the Western Front.There were many Redcross letters searching for both boys but Kenneth must have been very badly injured and was not repatriated back from England until 1921.I think this is where the confusion arose about him being KIA.
Valentine Joseph was sadly KIA we think the battle of Verdun just before the end of Ww1 he was buried then reinterred at Meterren Military Village in France not far from the Belgium border.The photo on the sight has daffodils that my Very lovely French friend and historian researcher places on Valentine’s grave on Anzac Day.
Submitted 1 May 2020 by Michelle Burrell
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From Rae Ison (great niece)
A wonderful tribute to my great Uncle and a heartfelt thanks to Marie Victoire and Bernard for visiting him. Sorry for this long tale but it helps me to tell of it,and were it not for this site I would not have known a family mystery and a brave soldier’s heroism and loss would have gone forgotten.
He and his brother Kenneth, and I only found this out through war records had a tragic string of events to their and my great grandmothers family. I won’t list it in detail as it is very personal, but if anyone is interested it is in Valentine’s 96 page AWM records. I started on the journey to research the FINDLAY family approx 5 years ago after we came from WA to QLD to live. I couldn’t believe after having such a close family that we had in WA that after researching I had this whole other family in NSW And I had never heard of them, and that the FINDLAY family had seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. What started as an innocent curiosity led to me finding a family torn apart by tragedy and loss but also a family who must have held great love and heroism and loyalty at their core. Our story is not uncommon for that time and I have heard many since, but to me it was astounding. After meeting Marie Victorine (alias) through this site, and her friend Phillipe Clerbout doing a tribute to Valentine and a tin of old photos I was allowed to photograph from my brother, the jigsaw came together. VALENTINE and KENNETH FINDLAY were farmer’s sons born in Wilcannia in NSW late last century they both fought in Gallipoli were wounded sent back to Australia and given a pension. The next part of the story needs more research and validation but they both then Reinlisted and fought in France.
Sadly many of the Official government research sites, even after me petitioning them will not piece together and validate both services and dual enlistment numbers. Valentine Joseph sadly died just before the end of WW1 and is buried in METERREN Cemetary. Thankfully after 100 years of accidental loss we found him and he is visited by our dear friend Dane and her husband Bernard. I hope they don’t mind me mentioning them as I know they do this for many other people and hate the spotlight and attend many events for no recognition. But it means so much to myself and my family that he is found and honoured and visited And most of all Remembered. Lest we Forget.His brother Kenneth was badly wounded in France sent to UK and for some reason spent 3 years in a UK hospital before being repatriated to Australia.
These Beautiful young men were accidental heroes and accidentally forgotten.Tragedy,grief sadness, a family torn apart and many family members not having children to carry on the Anzac heroics And legends.That is why I THANKYOU especially MV, Faye,Philippe, Evan, Francois and all your partners and everyone that contributes to this and other war remembrance sites.When FAMILILIES PASS AND SO THE PASSAGE OF TIME THE BATON OF REMEMBRANCE FALLS TO THINE HANDS AND MEMORIES OF PATRIOTS DIVINE... (I dedicate my poem written this morning to all of you with Love, respect, Thanks and fondness and immense gratitude of your loyalty.) We will never Forget I believe, with such wonderful people such as yourselves,patriots to remember and honour the service,life and losses.The eternal flame will always shine bright. Thankyou is not enough but will have to suffice.
Lest we forget.....
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