William Henry Etchells

"I only hope it is all a great mistake". This line jumped out at me as I scrolled through the service record of Harry Etchells, a soldier from Campbelltown who died on the Western Front in 1917. Amongst all the formal documents and official wording of the correspondence between the Base Records Office and Harry's sister Rubie Etchells, it was this line from Rubie that brought home to me the personal tragedy of war. As ANZAC Day approaches, I thought I would briefly tell the story of one of Campbelltown's brave men that never returned.

William Henry Etchells, better known as Harry, was the son of Harry and Nellie Etchells who lived at Eckersley about 1890. When his mother died in 1894, Harry and his sister were raised by relatives in Campbelltown.

William Henry Etchells (on right) with an unidentified friend during the First World War. (Clive "Oke" Etchell Collection).

Harry enlisted in the First World War in 1914, reaching the rank of lance-corporal in the 3rd Battalion. He suffered greatly from sickness and injury during his service. At Gallipoli he was evacuated with shell concussion and he suffered a gunshot wound in France in 1916. In England, he married a woman called Florence. He returned to the front in 1917 where he was badly wounded after losing both his legs and died soon afterwards. Unfortunately for his sister Rubie and the rest of the family there was no mistake.

W.H.Etchells' grave in Hooque Crater Cemetery, Zillebeke, Belgium. (Clive "Oke" Etchell Collection).

Written by Andrew Allen

Source:

McGill, Jeff    2001
Campbelltown & World War One 1914-1918
Campbelltown: Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society

Mossberry

Another wonderful building from Campbelltown's past that was demolished was "Mossberry". It was built on land that was originally granted to Robert Kable by Governor Macquarie in 1816. The land that "Mossberry" was built on later passed to the Warby family.

"Mossberry" consisted of a group of two buildings linked by a lattice breezeway, together with a timber shed. There was also an outbuilding which was believed to have been built by Kable around 1820. The main building was thought to have been built about 1840 and likely to have been constructed some five years after the first. It was a Georgian house with external walls of dressed stone which were later rendered and painted.

The lattice breezeway and the north east verandah to the main residence were added during the 1930's and used to link the living areas of the main house with the utilitarian areas located in the original residence.

The property passed from the Warby family to various owners up until the early 1990's. In 1993, an Interim Conservation Order was made on the building but because of constant vandalism, decay and neglect the house was seen as beyond restoration and was demolished. It was located at 15 Chamberlain Street.

                                                            "Mossberry" taken in 1977

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

KYDD, Ronald 1994
Heritage Report Mossberry
England & Kydd Pty Ltd

PB & EP Committee Meeting minutes 1993