RANSLEY, Edwin Horace
| Service Number: | 128 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles |
| Born: | St Marys, New South Wales, Australia, 11 November 1869 |
| Home Town: | St Marys, Penrith Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Enteric Fever, Sterkstroom, South Africa, 27 April 1900, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Sterkstroom Main Cemetery, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, St. Mary's Trooper Edwin Ransley Memorial Tablet |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 128 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 128, 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles | |
| 27 Apr 1900: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 128, 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles | |
| 27 Apr 1900: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 128, 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, DOD - Enteric Fever |
St Marys' Mechanics Institute NSW
In 1901 this institution was built on the Great Western Highway at St Marys. At the time of his enlistment, Edwin Horace Ransley was the Secretary of the institute. After the death of Edwin, his friend Sergeant H C Gates of “K” company from Penrith NSW returned with a flag brought back on behalf of the late Trooper E H Ransley (Boer War). This flag, a Union Jack, was one of the first raised over Bloemfontein in South Africa on its occupancy by Lord Roberts and the British & Australian Troops and was procured and brought over to Australia and St Marys by the Sergeant at the request of a dying Trooper Ransley who’s wish was to give a flag to the Institute but sadly he died of enteric fever in South Africa. The building was used for seventy years but the flag that had hung in the foyer of the institute vanished from site after the demolition of the building in 1971 and didn’t surface until it was found and put in the care of the St Marys Historical Society. This poor tattered and dirty flag (the glass of the frame being broken for many years) was restored by a grant to the Society from Veteran’s Affairs and the balance of the money for the restoration given from the St Marys' Rotary and is now again seen by the public in a permanent place in the Historical Society’s headquarters at the “Chambers” building at St Marys' Centre Precinct on the corner of the Great Western Highway & Mamre Rd.
Submitted 25 October 2016 by Lynette Forde
Biography contributed by John Edwards
"Here we met our first Australian soldier who passed on. He was only with us five days and during that time only noticed some roses brought by a kindly clergyman from Queenstown. With one of those in his hand he remarked that similar ones grew at his home in St Marys near Parramatta. Under his pillow we found a little prayer book which later, I had the pleasure of returning to the donor, his special friend at home. Thirty one graves mark our short stay of three months."
The soldier was most likely Edwin Horace Ransley who died of enteric (typhoid) fever on 27 April 1900 at Sterkstroom..." - from the Boer War Memorial of Julia Ellen (Nellie) Gould - Pioneer Military Nurse and Nurse Educator (bwm.org.au)
Click images to start slideshow.