23552
RYAN, John
| Other Name: | Woodard, Arthur - Boer War - Service Record |
|---|---|
| Service Number: | 1982 |
| Enlisted: | 13 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Banana, Queensland, Australia, 28 March 1877 |
| Home Town: | Bedourie, Diamantina, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stockman, Labourer |
| Died: | Durban, Natal, South Africa, 22 October 1927, aged 50 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Randwick General Cemetery, New South Wales Plot: CoE., Y16 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 50th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 1982, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 1982, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Adelaide | |
| 16 Jun 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 50th Infantry Battalion, Invalided with gastritis, appendicitis and bronchitis embarked from England aboard A33 Ayrshire to return to Australia on 16 Jun 1917. | |
| 17 Sep 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 50th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour John Ryan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Note- while researching this soldier's WW1 service it was found he noted he was born in Queensland and had pereviously served 2 1/2 years in the Boer war. When searching for his previous Boer war service it became evident that the name John Ryan is either an assumed, or legaly changed, name that occured after he completed his Boer war service under the name Arthur Woodard/Arthur William Woodard with his birth recorded under the name Arthur Edwin Woodard.
Refer to VWMA profile for Arthur William Woodard S.N. 225, 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry and S.N. 625, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen 1st Draft (he served twice in the Boer war) and the biography on that profile to arrive at this point.
When John Ryan enlisted at Adelaide in 1916 for WW1 he noted on his Attestation Paper, dated 13 Apr 1916, that; He was born at Banana Qld and was 43 years 1 month of age; he was single and a labourer; his N.O.K. was his sister Mrs. Motram Evans Brooks, Brisbane, Qld; and he had previously served 2 1/2 years in the Boer war. On the AWM WW1 embarkation roll it further noted that prior to enlistment he was living at Diamantina River (perhaps Bedourie), Qld.
Checking for his Boer war record on the AWM nominal roll, no record could be found for a John Ryan serving in a Queensland contingent. In turn searching for records for his sister it was found that on Qld BDM marriage records that Mr. Mattram Evans Brooks married Ms. Isabel Amelia Woodard in Qld in 1890. Using BDM Qld it was found among her siblings born in Qld was a Arthur Edwin Woodard in 1877. Boer war records indicated a Arthur William Woodard/Arthur Woodard had served twice with Queensland contingents in the Boer war.
When Arthur William Woodard enlisted for the first time in the Boer war he gave his address as Light St, Bowen Hills, Qld. Arthur Edwin was the son of James Martin Woodard who passed in Apr 1903. In James' funeral notice in The Telegraph, 27 Apr 1903, it noted his funeral would move from his late residence "Southwold", Light St, Bowen Hills, and Arthur was among those requested to attend. In a legal notice of those making claim on James' estate in The Telegraph, 9 Oct 1905, Arthur Edwin Woodard a drover from Brisbane is included.
Looking online for informationon the life of Arthur Edwin Woodard post 1905, a bio was found on online genealogy site WikiTree that indicated he also went by the name John Ryan and that he had passed in Sydney in 1927. The death was not recorded on BDM NSW, however, a Find A Grave memorial was found for a John Woodard Ryan who had passed in 1927.
The find a grave memorial contains a photo of the grave headstone which contains a detailed inscription. The inscription indicates that he; was born in Qld on 27 Mar 1867; he had actually passed at Durban, South Africa on 22 Oct 1927; he had served in the 50th Batt. A.I.F., Boer War and Matabele Campaign. The Matabele campaign took place in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) over 2 periods, 1893-1894 (1st Matabele war) and 1896-1897 (2nd Matabele war).
Also interred in the same grave is his wife Clara Augusta Woodard Ryan who did pass in Sydney in 1942. There appears to be no record of his marriage in Australia suggesting he married in South Africa sometime after 1917. It appears he relocated to South Africa at some point after he was returned to Australia from his WW1 service and discharged in Sep 1917, and remained in South Africa until he passed in 1927.
Arthur Edwin Woodard also known as Arthur William Woodard/Arthur Woodard, aka John Ryan and John Woodard Ryan was born at Banana, Qld on 27 Mar 1877 (BDM Qld), a son to James Martin Woodard and Mary Ann Catherine Woodard (nee Sparks). His birth year is likely 1867 as per his grave headstone if he participated in the Matabele campaign. He was married to Clara Augusta Woodard Ryan with the marriage assumed to have occured in South Africa.
(source- National Archives Australia- WW1 service record; Father's Funeral Notice - The Telegraph (Brisb), 27 Apr 1903, p. 1; Legal Notice: Claimants on Father's Estate - The Telegraph (Brisb), 9 Oct 1905, p. 8; WikiTree Onlne Genealogy: Bio Arthur Edwin Woodard (John Ryan); AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 471 & 518; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 3rd QMI, Bk 4 p. 47, and 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 63).