Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Simon Sydney (Sid) Whitehead was born on the 24 April, 1870, at Tooma and died on the 16 June 1940. At the time of Simon’s birth his father, Thomas Whitehead, was 30 years old. Thomas was born on the 27 June, 1840, near Goulburn NSW and died on the 29 April 1913, aged 73, being buried in the Cudgewa cemetery. Thomas married Jane Gasmar Dunn. Jane was born in 1843 (possibly in Ireland) and died on the 3 March, 1905, aged 62. When you think of the 1800s you usually think of outlaws or very sensible young children but before Thomas met Jane, Thomas was quite the troublemaker himself. Instead of going to school, Thomas and his siblings would get tutored at night, and their lesson would go for as long as a candle burned, so, when their tutor wasn’t looking, they would try and help the candle burn quicker therefore shortening the lesson. Then Thomas met Jane and they settled down and had a family. Simon was the 4th child of Thomas and Jane. Thomas and Jane had eleven children; Agnes (1862 to 1910), Margaret Catherine (1864 to 1958), Thomas William (1866 to 1943), James (? to 1949), Jane Eliza (1873 to 1948), Richard Arthur (1878 to 1957, Frances Jessie (1883 to 1932), Mary Ann Ethel (1884 to 1972) and Arnold David (1885 to 1975).

Before Simon went to war he owned the Oak Hill Dairy herd in Warbrook. An article in the 21 September, 1905, edition of the Corryong Courier described the property;

Oak Hill Dairy herd - This is the property of Mr Sydney Whitehead, which he is milking on shares with Mr Micheal Webster for consignment to the Corryong butter Factory. The herd in question is the pick of the fattening paddocks of Warbrook, and this is in the pink of condition. A neat, clean little dairy is on the spot, wherein is a steam separator which does excellent work. The shed and yards are being renovated and enlarged for the current season’s operations, and the tout ensemble is being brought up to the regulation standard.

On the 18 June, 1915, Simon enlisted in the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) at Melbourne, Victoria. Upon enlistment Simon was given the service number 1896, enlisting as a light horseman. Simon, weighing in at 17 to 18 stone, went to line up with the other men enlisting in the Lighthorse after showing the officers what he could do. One volunteer was heard to have said to Simon “We don’t have elephants in here mate.” The officer in charge remarked, “There is only one person here who can really ride and that is a Whitehead”.

Simon was 45 on enlistment, 5 foot 11 inches tall (180 cm) and weighed between 17 to 18 stone (108 kg). He had a fresh complexion and a 41-inch chest measurement. Like most Whiteheads, Simon had brown hair and blue eyes, but no distinctive marks. Simon specified his religious denomination as Presbyterian. With both parents having passed away, Simon listed his brother Richard as his next of kin.

Simon embarked on the HMAT A44 Vestalia on the 18 January, 1916, sailing from Sydney. New South Wales. The trip would take him across the Great Australian Bight to Fremantle, on to Colombo, in Ceylon, before finally disembarking at the southern end of the Suez Canal, in Egypt. On the 25 February, 1916, he reported for duty at Heliopolis. Two months later he was transferred to the 12th Division Ammunition Column based at Serapeum, Egypt.

Another transfer, this time to the 4th Division Ammunition Column, resulted in him boarding the HMT Oriana at Alexandria on 6 June, 1916 for the seven day trip to Marseilles in the south of France.

The next few months saw him being promoted to Bombardier and finally Corporal. A stint of leave in England from the 17 March, 1918, through to the 3 April, 1918, would have allowed Simon to enjoy the sights and sounds of London, well away from the front line. Other than a short time spent with the 13th Australian Field Hospital suffering from influenza, Simon spent most of 1918 with the 4th Division Ammunition, 12th Infantry Brigade in France.

The Ammunition Columns were responsible for keeping ammunition up to the guns, both light and heavy, by moving it from the third line storage areas up to the front line. It involved using a number of transport methods, including motor and horse-drawn, heavy and light rails and tramways.

Although the war ended in November of 1918, it wasn't until April 1919, that Simon, now 49, embarked on HMAT Armagh for return to Australia, finally being discharged on the 1 September, 1919. For his service during World War 1, Simon was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Upon arriving back in Australia, Simon married Ellen Harriet Davis (born on the 6 June 1868, at Rochester, Victoria), daughter of Thomas and Harriet Davis, in 1919 in Melbourne, Victoria. Simon managed a property at Barambola during 1919 and 1920, until he purchased a Soldier Settlers property “Hillside” at Tarcutta, New South Wales. He sold this in 1938 and retired to a small property “Dunloch” at Bowna, seventeen miles (27 km) outside of Albury. Relatives of Simon remember him always owning racehorses, particularly steeplechasers, with some of them being quite good. He raced at places including Albury, Wodonga, Chiltern and Wangaratta. Simon and Nell also provided land for the construction of the Tarcutta Presbyterian Church, which Nell laid the foundation stone for.

Simon passed away on 16 June, 1940, and was buried in Albury, New South Wales along with Nell who had died the previous May. They had no children during their marriage.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.