Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Police Station, Collingwood, Victoria

Born, on 19 June 1890, at Staines-upon-Thames, situated on the left bank of the River Thames, Surrey, England, in the county of Middlesex, the youngest son of James and Patience Green, Sidney Green migrated, in 1911, to Australia.
Formerly serving as a constable at Reigate, a town in Surrey, England, approximately 30 km south of central London, Sid Green was a member, for three years, of Surrey Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England.

Arriving in Melbourne, Victoria, 21 years of age, Sidney Green, reunited with three married sisters of his mother, Alice, Amy, as well as Alfritha, together with their sons, Noel Gordon Tampling, Eric Heggen Turner and Maurice Alfred Fergusson.

Appointed, on 28 March 1912, to the Victoria Police Force, on 12 June 1912, Constable Sidney Green transferred to Russell Street for foot duty.

Marrying, on 19 June 1913, at the Presbyterian Manse, St Kilda, Irene Elizabeth Weir-Smith, Sid Green transferred, in July 1913, to Collingwood, via St Kilda Road police station. In the same year the couple registered the birth of their daughter, Irene Patience, at East Melbourne, Victoria.

Resigning, on 19 July 1915, Sidney Green enlisted in the AIF, his wife and daughter taking up residence with Irene’s parents, William and Sarah Weir-Smith, at 7 Manningham Street, Parkville West.

Enlisting, on 17 July 1915 Melbourne, Victoria born, 18 years of age, clerk, Noel Gordon Tampling, a cousin to Sid Green, was assigned to 13th Reinforcements 2nd Signals Company; eventually to serve on the Western Front with the 12th Field Ambulance. Severely wounded in action, on 18 September 1918, Private Noel Tampling died of such wounds on 20 September 1918 in France.

Enlisting, on 3 December 1915 Melbourne, Victoria born, 25 years of age, blacksmith, Eric Alfred Turner, a cousin to Sid Green, served on the Western Front with the 13th Field Artillery Brigade. Corporal Eric Alfred Turner, on 6 October 1917, was killed in action in Belgium.

A third cousin, Lieutenant Maurice Alfred Fergusson, MC and Bar, Mentioned in Despatches, 4th Division Artillery, returned to Australia, 9 December 1918.

Enlisting at Melbourne, on 12 July 1915, 177.8cm [5’10”], 82.5kg [13 st], 25 years 1 month of age, Victoria Police constable, Sidney Frank William Harold Green [1891-1916], was assigned to 7th Battalion 10th Reinforcement, embarking, on 29 September 1915, from Melbourne aboard HMAT RMS Osterley.
Joining the 7th Battalion at Tel Kebir, Egypt, Sid Green was, on 7 January 1916, reverted to the ranks. Transferring to the 59th Battalion, he saw his 30 May 1916 promotion to Corporal.

Steaming from Alexandria, Egypt, on 18 June 1916 to disembark at Marseilles, France on 29 June 1916, the battalion was introduced to the Western Front in the British held French Flanders, close to Armentieres-Belgium border in what was known as the Bois Grenier or Fleurbaix sector.

By this time, Spring 1916, this area had seen little serious fighting for almost a year, resulting in its nickname the ‘nursery sector’ where new formations could be introduced to trench warfare.

Arrival on the Western Front exposed the AIF to precision enemy artillery bombardment and sniping, the nursery sector enduring frequent sorties as well as attacks by German aircraft, together with gas attacks as well as the highly effective German Minenwerfer medium trench mortar.

On the 5 May 1916 there was heavy German bombardment on the 20th Battalion holding the Bridoux Salient to the south-east of Bois Grenier, causing about 100 casualties.

Raiding was of course conducted by both sides. During a trench raid on the Germans opposite their position on 13 June 1916, Captain Percy Douglas Moncur MC [Constable 5766 Bourke Street West police station] commanded a successful raiding party raid on the enemy trenches taking six prisoners, as well as mortally wounding twelve German soldiers; bombing others in their dugouts with unknown results.”

The Battle of Fromelles, on 19 July 1916, was a bloody initiation of Australian soldiers to warfare on the Western Front. Ordered to attack strongly fortified German front line positions near the Aubers Ridge in French Flanders, the attack was intended as a feint to hold German reserves from moving south to the Somme where a large Allied offensive commenced on 1 July.

Intended as a feint to hold German reserves from moving south to the Somme where a large Allied offensive commenced on 1 July, the infantry attack of the Battle of Fromelles began when the first soldiers went over the parapets at 5.30 pm. The feint was a disastrous failure with Australian and British soldiers assaulted, over open ground in broad daylight, three hours before nightfall, under direct observation as well as heavy, sweeping machine gun fire from the German lines.

Over 5,500 Australians became casualties. Almost 2,000 of them were killed in action or died of wounds, as well as some 400 captured. Believed to be the greatest loss by a single division in 24 hours during the entire First World War, some consider Fromelles the most tragic event in Australia’s history.

Reported ‘Wounded and Missing in Action’ on 19 July 1916, the fate of Corporal Sidney Frank William Harold Green was subsequently determined to be ‘Killed in Action’, the file being certified, on 10 October 1919, by Captain Mills.

Twenty-two years of age, 4533 Sergeant James Alysious Mahoney, 57th Battalion, a patient of the 3rd Southern General Hospital, The Base, Oxford, England, on 11 November 1916, related Corporal Sid Green was killed on the 19 July 1916 to be buried on 22nd July in ‘No Man’s Land’ at Fromelles by himself assisted by Sergeant Riley. Sid Green’s paybook, as well as his identity disc, was handed to an Officer, whilst photographs were sent to his widow in Australia.

Interviewed on 12 January 1917, his brother, 20 years of age, Private Martin Francis Mahoney 3412, 54th Battalion Machine Gun Company, said he assisted, in heavy fog, to bury a soldier out in No Man’s Land at Fleurbaix about six days following the action, with the personal effects being sent to his bereaved family.
1144 Sergeant George Robert Riley, 57th Battalion, a patient of 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, England, on 26 January 1917, stated, “I saw him [Green] dead at Fleurbaix and took his paybook and photos. I gave the paybook to Lieutenant Dickinson and sent the photos to his wife. He was buried where he fell.”

Over two years following the battle, on the day of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Australian official war correspondent, Charles Bean, wandered over the battlefield of Fromelles. Observing the grisly aftermath of the battle: “We found the old No-Man’s-Land simply full of our dead”, he recorded, “the skulls and bones and torn uniforms were lying about everywhere”.

Gathered soon after the war, these remains initially comprised VC Corner Cemetery, the sole Australian war cemetery in France, as well as being the only cemetery without headstones. Epitaphs to individual soldiers are non-existent, simply a stone wall inscribed with the names of 1,299 Australians killed in battle nearby without known graves. Panel No. 15 commemorating the memory of Constable Sidney Frank William Harold Green 5737.