Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Uvedale's parents were William Edward Parry-Okeden and Elizabeth Gertrude Wall. At the time he enlisted, Uvedale was a grazier on Hawkward Station, Chinchilla,Queensland. Single and age 40, Uvedale's rank on enlistment was Lieutenant and he was promoted to Captain on 9th November 1915. He was Mentioned in Despatches, London Gazette No.29357 on 5th November 1915 for conspicuous gallantry on 13 July 1915 at the Gallipoli Peninsula and was awarded a Military Cross on 8 November 1915 for distinguished service in the field during operations at the Dardanelles. He returned to Australian in April 1916 for discharge in Australia on disciplinary grounds. Uvedale then re-enlisted on 11 July 1917 as a private and was sent overseas on 19 June 1918. He was promoted to Acting Sergeant and served in England. Uvedale married Auburn Jessie May Hayes in 1922. His Father, William E Parry-Okeden owned a holiday home named Oakwall at Redcliffe and the Parry-Okeden family were active in local affairs.

MILITARY CROSS WON
Heroism gains reward Gallant conduct on the part of Captain Uvedale Edward Parry Okeden, who is a son of Mr. W. E. Parry-Okeden, former Commissioner of Police in Queensland, and is well known in Melbourne, resulted, as was recently announced officially, in his being awarded the Military Cross. His name appears among the cases
of illness in the casualty list issued on February 18. He is at present a patient in the Second Australian General Hospital at Ghezireh.
The action which won him a decoration was carried out at Anzac, during the occupancy by the Australians of that portion of the Gallipoli Peninsula. With the object of destroying the ammunition supply, the Turkish guns had maintained a heavy bombardment of the stores, which were exposed to their fire. On three separate occasions the enemy succeeded n causing dangerous fires, which were extinguished by Captain Parry-Okeden and six men at the imminent risk of their lives. For this he was mentioned in despatches, and subsequently received the Military Cross.
Captain Parry-Okeden, who is 42 years of age, joined the Australian Imperial Force in 1914, and was attached, with the rank of lieutenant, to the 17th Divisional Ammunition Park, 301st Army Service Corps. He left Australia with Colonel W. H. Tunbridge, C.B., formerly a Melbourne architect, but during his stay in Egypt suffered from illness, with the result that when he recovered he went to Gallipoli instead of proceeding to England, and subsequently to France, as did some of the men under Colonel Tunbridge's control.