Did you know that Proserpine had its own “Ryan” family – four members of that cane farming family from Preston enlisted in World War One. But unlike the “famous” Ryan brothers who fought for America in World War Two, three of them losing their lives, thankfully all four of these brothers survived the war.
In this feature, we pay tribute to the sons of James and Bridget Ryan - Albert, Henry, James and Joseph.
RYAN, Albert (Mick) Michael (5th Light Horse Regiment)
Albert (Mick) enlisted on October 16, 1914 and embarked from Sydney aboard the “Persic”. He was one of the first to leave Australia for service abroad. On May 16, 1915, he landed at Gallipoli. A machine gunner, he spent five months in the trenches and was wounded twice; once seriously resulting in a shrapnel wound to the head. After seven months of being transferred to various hospitals and convalescent homes, he returned home and was medically discharged. Trooper Ryan was the first wounded soldier to arrive in Proserpine and was honoured with a hero’s welcome at the railway station and later at the Shire Hall in July 1916.
After the war, Albert married and moved to Home Hill. In World War Two, he was a private in the Australian Volunteer Defence Corps. He passed away on December 8, 1947 and is buried at the Home Hill Cemetery.
RYAN, James (Jim) Patrick (4th Pioneer Battalion 4th Division)
James (Jim) joined the AIF on November 20, 1914. He embarked on board HMAT “Shropshire” joining the 14th Battalion at Gallipoli on May 5, 1915 just eleven days before his brother, Albert. He was sent to the island of Lemnos as part of the Gallipoli evacuation. In March 1916, James was posted to the 4th Pioneer Battalion at Tel-El-Kerir. Here they were involved in engineering and construction such as field fortifications, military camps, bridges and roads.
On June 11, 1916, James disembarked from the “Scotian” at Marseilles, France. Not long after this, he sustained a gunshot wound to his left foot and it was twenty-two months before he returned to duty. In a letter written to his brother, Mick, about his time on the Somme, he wrote: “I tell you I saw and heard more shells in France in about two hours than I saw in Gallipoli for the six and seven months I was there.” James was sent back to Australia on April 23, 1919 after five years of overseas service.
James married Mary Raftery in Proserpine and they lived at 5 Fuljames Street. He died on January 11, 1979, aged 92, and is buried in the Proserpine Cemetery.
RYAN, Joseph (Joe) (12th Reinforcement 5th Light Horse Regiment)
Joseph enlisted on September 9, 1915 and embarked from Sydney aboard the “Suffolk” bound for Maadi, Egypt. After a number of hospital admissions due to abdominal lesions, he was returned to Australia aboard the “Clan McGillivray” on July 10, 1916.
RYAN, Henry Salisbury (29th Reinforcement 5th Light Horse Regiment)
Henry enlisted on September 3, 1917 and embarked from Sydney aboard the “Kyarra” enroute to the Suez, Egypt, where he began training as a signaller. Due to multiple illnesses, he did not see much action and was medically discharged on September 4 1919, initially returning to his parents’ farm at Preston. Later, he worked as a boilermaker at Babinda and South Johnstone Mills and then, a few years before his death, he returned to Preston where farmed cane. He died on May 14, 1933 and is buried in the Proserpine Cemetery.
LEST WE FORGET.
Story and photo courtesy Proserpine Historical Museum
