No.10531, Sapper, Urban PARR, served as William BARRY
Aged 28
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Urban Parr was born in Burwell on 5th April 1889 (Newmarket Q2-1889 3B:545), baptised 28th April 1889 in Burwell, son of Albert John and Amelia PARR
(née ROLLITT).
1891 census...Aged 2, he was at Newnham. Burwell with his father Albert PARR [47] waterman labourer, born Burwell; his mother Amelia [32] born Saltfleet, Lincolnshire; sister Annie [10] and brother Harold [4] and his father's step-children, William DAY [11] and Lilly J A DAY [8] both born Littleport. His father's 1st wife, Rebecca (née DYSON) had died in 1885 and he re married in 1886 to Amelia ROLLITT who according to an unsourced record on Ancestry was previously married to John Thomas Day m.circa 1879, who died in an accident at Spithead waterworks 1901 census...Aged 11, he was at North Street, Burwell with his widowed mother and his brothers Albert [9], Charlie [7] and Herbert [3]. All the children were born in Burwell. His father Albert had died in Burwell in April 1898, aged 54. 1911 census...He apparently had emigrated to Australia, his mother and brothers Herbert and Charles, farm labourers, were at Bedlam Square, Burwell. His younger brother, Herbert, serving in the Suffolk Regiment, was killed in France in July 1916 see here |
Urban in Canadian uniform allegedly......and with his wife Alice in Australia
however the dress uniform photo looks more likely to be a British Lancer.
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This is complicated by the fact that he deserted from one Australian unit, and then joined, fought and died in another. Unfortunately of the 85 pages
of his service record, a few did not download (probably the ones with the most answers !). Commonwealth War Graves have him serving as Urban Parr, the
Australian Army has William BARRY and spent months trying to find Urban Parr who had deserted from another unit. His body was identified by his disc,
which seemingly was in the name of BARRY.
He first enlisted in Australia on 28th March 1915 at Holsworthy in the 12th Light Horse, No.37, a single man, farmer, born near Newmarket, England, next of kin his mother Mrs A Parr of Burwell. He gave his age as 25 years 11 months, was 5ft 7" (170.2 cm)tall, weighed 140 lbs (63.7 kg), chest 34.5" to 37" (87.6 to 94 cm), blue eyed, brown hair and Church of England. Sworn in at Liverpool, New South Wales. He should have embarked on HMAT "Suevic" on 13th June 1915 but was not found. The Provost Marshall was unable to find him, and a warrant was issued for his arrest for desertion in July 1915. He still had not been found in November. Then, as William BARRY he enlisted on 6th January 1916 and was sworn in at Sydney as No. 10531 in the 3rd Division Signals Company. This time he was a mental attendant with a wife at Sorrell Street, Parramatta North, discharged by purchase from the 9th Lancers. Giving his age as 26 years and 8 months, his measurements were unchanged. He was in Infantry Reinforcements from then until 12th February 1916 , going on to Signal School until joining 3rd Division Signals Company as Sapper on 15th March 1916. He was posted to 34th battalion AIF on 30th October 1916, in England Whilst awaiting embarkation in May 1916, on 13th May he signed a form stating he was in reality Urban PARR, date of birth 5th April 1889. Despite this he continued to be recorded as William Barry, even being buried as such initially. It appears that it was as late as 1924 that some departments were being asked to delete "BARRY" and replace with "PARR" Embarked on HMAT "Ascarius" at Sydney on 27th May 1916, he left for England. On the voyage he was sentenced to 168 hours detention for conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline. He proceeded via Southampton to France on 21st November 1916. Sometime in 1916, a Miss Beatrice A Palmer of Ingleholme, Brockley View, Forest Hill, London was trying to find him (as Urban Parr). In France he was detached to the Intelligence Department at Rouen from 30th March to 5th May 1917, then to Brigade Signals School on 19th August before rejoining 34th Battalion on 25th August. He was somewhere in the Passchedaele region (report 51.284 (C))is recorded on his burial records) when he was reported missing and presumed dead on 12th October 1917. His body was eventually found and identified by his disc which apparently was as BARRY. In 1918 his wife Alice Florence (née TURNER) was still trying to find him. Letters from the Army were addressed to Mrs BARRY at Sorrell Street, Parramatta, she replied as Mrs A.Parr and eventually she was awarded a £1 a week pension for herself and £1 a week for one child. Other records show one child as Robert Patrick TURNER [1913-1919] and another as Urban James John PARR [1916-1916]. As late as July 1938 the Australian Army were still trying to sort out his medals. They had sent his War Medal medal out to his wife and it turned up in 1938. Their enquiries revealed they found no relative interested since Alice had re married to Hjalmad Gunner BOECK on June 22nd 1922 and had died on 17th June 1926. Her second husband then re married. In all this, 85 pages from Australian archives, there is no mention of disciplinary action as a result of his desertion. Probably they took the practical step of realising they actually had him in the Army, and was more use there than in prison, and later his death made any punishment impossible. Interestingly the Australian Army seemed no more efficient than ours, since often the left hand never seemed to know what the right hand was doing. After this it will come as no surprise that the actual location of his death is not accurately found, but since it was the opening day of the first battle of Passchendaele, that is not so surprising after all. The Australians had 850 killed that day, 556 with no known gave and named on the Menin Gate in Ypres. Urban's unit had 84 killed, 22 eventually being identified.   1st headstone......and replacement photo: Rodney Gibson click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
