Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Lieutenant Colonel C.R.A. Pye (1890-1917) was my grandfather's 3rd cousin however it is unlikely they knew one another since my grandfather was born in 1913. Nevertheless, my grandfather served later in WW2 with the Australian Infantry Forces, becoming a Rat of Tobruk for his time in North Africa. So, it seems military honours run in the family; or at least they did in that generation! The below information has been taken from our book A Family of Significant Substance: 197 Years of the Pye Family in Australia (Christine Thomas, 1989). Thankyou.

Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Robert Arthur PYE, born 1890, was killed in action in France on October 4, 1947 at the Battle of Bullecourt. Prior to death, an extract from the London Gazette came in announcing that the King had appointed the young officer to be a Commander of the Distinguished Service Order for "conspicuous bravery in the field, where, at the risk of his life, and as an example to his men, he did noble work."

As a young man he distinguished himself at school and at the University (in the medical profession). The deceased officer was on the eve of a brilliant career when he offered himself for military service. He was an ardent student of the "art of war" and soon after his arrival in France, although only 27 years of age, was made Lieutenant Colonel and given the command of a Battalion, amongst the members of which he was very popular.

Cecil's parents, Mr and Mrs Robert Pye, received particulars as to how their son Cecil was killed in action on October 4, 1947:
"The Battle had raged furiously during the day and at 5pm, the German Shells still continued to drop on the lines held by Lieutenant Colonel Pye and his Battalion.
This brave young officer was anxious as to whether his forward companies were safe, as their cover did not consist of proper trench system, because they had to be improvised from the shell holes. He decided to see for himself and to carry out his object, left his Battalion Headquarters amidst the shell firing. He had not gone far when a shell burst quite close to him and he was seen as if to dive for cover. Not returning or being seen again, one of his men ran over to the spot and found his Colonel lying unconscious.
A small portion of the shell had struck his temple with fatal results."

Writing to Cecil's father on October 7, General Sir William Birdwood said:
"This is only a line to tell you how deeply I sympathize with you in the loss of your gallant son, whose death is such a very great loss to all of us here. I had seen a great deal of him lately and hoped to see him the very day he was killed. I was just on the way up to the front, when I received word that he had been killed only a few minutes previously on the same track up which I was going. He had proved himself such a real good soldier, and I had so hoped that he would be spared to see through the war in safety, and return to you at the end of it with honour.