The Webb Wagg Family in Australia

Our last post was on 21 September 2017, the 99th anniversary of the death of Sarah Wagg (nee Turner) - the matriarch of our Webb Wagg family.  It was a hasty post as I was heading off to a Family History Conference in Orange with an early afternoon tea in Bathurst at the home of "our Webb Wagg cousin", Therese. As I made my way out of Sydney, the serendipity of meeting Therese again after 50 plus years on the anniversary of Sarah's death struck me....  It's always fun to catch up with family when you share an interest...even more fun when family treasures are presented as well as delicious scones! Here's what was waiting for me...... All that's written on the back is "Webb Wagg family gathering".  Therese and I poured over the photo as I'm sure you will.   Have you ever seen a copy of this photo before?   Where and when was it taken? Who are all those people?   Is there more than one camera as some are facing ahead, some ar...

In our last post, we saw the home where our matriarch, Sarah Wagg (nee Turner), died in 1918.  Dale, a granddaughter of William John Neely (1898 to 1947), recalls that 247 West Street, North Sydney was the address William used on his First World War discharge papers stating it was the home of his uncle (and Sarah's son), William John (Bill) Webb-Wagg (1873 to 1933). So Sarah was living with her son Bill, his wife Ethel (nee Swanson) and their six children - Les, Bill, Em, Christopher, Charlie and Ali - at the time of her death.   We've seen a number of precious documents that have passed through the family of Bill Webb-Wagg.  This adds to the story of how they survived for over 150 years! William Neely was the oldest of the four children of Arthur John Burns (Top) Neely and Minnie Daisy Webb Wagg (the youngest of William and Sarah's children).  Minnie died on 08 July 1911 and Top Neely was still living at the family home in Willoughby at the end of the First...

Leslie Hayden "Les" Gillett (1889 to 28 January 1943) I couldn't let Anzac Day pass without sharing this information which I've receive just hours ago. Les is a grandson of William and Sarah - his parents are James Gillett and Sarah Wagg. Les was awarded the Military Medal for his gallantry in leading a patrol on 29 August 1916 in France. A great niece of Les has kindly provided us with this extract from his memoir.  In this, Les  describes being buried in mud as a result of gunfire. He writes “I was with two others, one was buried up to the neck in mud, I was covered right up, but the other one dug us out. They both went back with shell shock, but I stayed on. I went back for my false teeth which I lost when I called out for help as the mud was coming over me. The Lieutenant said I couldn’t have any nerves". Extract from the memoir of Les Gillett We don' know if Les ever found his false teeth! Les's Enlistment Papers - Page ...