BACKGROUND

Sylvester Albert Rice, Henry Phillip Rice, Edward Charles Rice, David Joseph Rice, and Robert William Rice, were all sons of James and Elizabeth Rice of Burringbar. From old land records we have been able to establish that in 1900 two of the brothers, Henry, and Robert, were the first selectors of two adjoining properties totalling 362 acres. The location of their farms extended over the ridgeline of what is now Dunloe Park and Taggarts Quarry, on the Mooball/Pottsville Road. In 1898, a WP Rice is listed as the first selector for 411 acres, and that farm’s location was between Hulls Road and today’s Cowell Park. It is likely that this was their elder brother Walter’s property.

Ned had 4 other brothers who enlisted. Tragically his younger brother Sylvester Albert Rice died on 9^th August 1915 . Henry died on 10^th August 1915 but Robert lived to return home in 1919. Joe returned home in June 1917, wounded in action. Sadly, their mother had died in 1918 and would never have known the fate of all her sons. The Rice family lived in and around Murwillumbah and many are buried in the Murwillumbah Old Cemetery or Murwillumbah Cemetery. The parents are listed on the Banner St Memorial, Murwillumbah which lists the 2348 pioneer settlers of the Tweed district

FAMILY LIFE

Edward Charles Rice was born on c1884, in Mittagong, one of 12 children of James and Elizabeth (Cornock) Rice. He was known as Ed or Bendy. 

ATTESTATION

He was single farmer, eager to do his bit. He travelled to Brisbane on 7^th September 1915 to complete his application which showed his next of kin as his mother, Elizabeth, of Burringbar. His medical showed he was 32 years 3 months old, 5ft 9 inches tall (1.75m), weighed 156 lbs (70kgs), with a dark complexion, blue eyes & brown hair. His eyesight was good

The Examining Medical Officer stated that Edward “can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service.”  On the second page of the Attestation Paper, he made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, Edward Charles Rice, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War … SO HELP ME, GOD.” 

Ned was Roman Catholic and had a burn on his left ankle.  He was enlisted as a private into the 47th Infantry Battalion with service No 4236

TRAINING AT RIFLE RANGE CAMP, ENOGGERA

As was the case with men from the Northern Rivers district in New South Wales, they trained at Rifle Range Camp, Enoggera near Brisbane. The Barracks Block was built as accommodation for men in two dormitories, each 36 feet by 22 feet (10.97 x 6.7 metres). Beds or bunks were not provided, instead each man slept on a palliasse with ground sheet on the floor. For many it was their first time away from home. Men from every walk of life, from clerks and teachers to factory and shop workers, were crammed together

Now training for the new recruits began. Firstly, the men received their vaccinations for smallpox, rabies & plague. Ned received his on 10^th September, 28^th September, and 13^th December 1915. Then a recruit had to be inducted into military forms of discipline, command, and order. This was partially achieved through a program of basic training carried and, in a sense, was maintained for a long as a man was in the service. It involved marching and drilling with the rifle, cleaning and caring for personal equipment and being supervised and inspected in ways quite different to ordinary civilian life. For example, no boots should be allowed to get in a bad state of wear but must be sent to the bootmaker without delay for repair. Men who were found with hair long and unshaven had to have a haircut and shave

Secondly, after basic training there followed the far more serious exercise of turning a man into a fighting soldier at least partially prepared for the kind of warfare he was about to experience overseas. The topics and exercises in the syllabus of training were a world away from their former lives and included daily physical training, entrenching, wiring, firing rifle grenades, firing the Lewis light machine gun, dealing with gas attack, using hand grenades, using the bayonet, and the routines to be followed in the trenches.

This training was then put into practice during what were called ‘Field Days,’ when men would practice using the skills they had acquired in mock attacks both by day and by night. How well men had learnt to use their weapons, in cooperation with each other in training, would be tested in the harsh reality of the front line. Training would take several months

The recruits were issued with their uniform: a khaki woollen jacket, heavy cord breeches and the famous slouch hat – turned up on the left and featuring a plain khaki band, chinstrap and “rising sun” badge. A soldier’s equipment also included a dixie (mess tin), water bottle, mug, .303 Lee-Enfield rifle and bayonet.

VOYAGE OVERSEAS

On the 3rd January 1916, the recruits left Brisbane, sailing upon the HMAT Kyara. The epic voyage across the ocean has been described as “the longest journey to war in the history of the world.” They thought it was the start of a new adventure- for many it was their first time so far away from home. However, after some time at sea the biggest problem turned out to be boredom. On-board, Officers organised rigorous training drills and exercise sessions for the men. They were expected to do their own washing, sweep the decks and carry out other chores

Attempts at breaking up the boredom, apart from the regular drill, varied. Shipboard activities included regular church parades and concerts. Troops engaged in lifebelt drill; a cookhouse on deck; soldiers on fatigues peeling potatoes 'spud bashing'; going to the dentist; barber, pay day; soldiers cleaning personal equipment; medical inspection. Sports and recreation included boxing, deck quoits, draughts. Also, the commanding officer's morning inspection; kit inspections; submarine drill; recreation such as the on deck 'open air' library, deck billiards, pillow fighting and card games including Nap. As well, conditions on the ships were cramped and the risk of illness was constant. 

Three hearty meals a day were served; breakfast usually consisted of porridge, stew, and tea. Lunch included soup, meat, vegetables, and pudding. Meat, bread with jam and tea was served for dinner. Many of the troops experienced bouts of seasickness on the voyage. The crossing the Equator ceremony, ‘Neptune’s Journey,’ was played-out on each troopship.

ARRIVAL EGYPT FEBRUARY 1916

EGYPTIAN TRAINING CAMP

After arriving in Alexandria on 19 February 1916, Edward spent several weeks in the desert training camps of Egypt, undergoing rigorous preparation for the battlefields of Europe. Like many reinforcements at the time, he was absorbed into the newly formed 47th Battalion, part of the AIF’s massive expansion following Gallipoli.

Though far from the front lines, there was no time for rest. Along with hundreds of other reinforcements, he was sent inland to the vast training camp at Tel el Kebir, a dusty sprawl of tents and parade grounds stretched across the Egyptian desert.

The weeks that followed were relentless. The camp was designed to turn civilians into soldiers—and quickly. Days began before dawn with roll call and route marches in full kit beneath the rising desert heat. Ned spent hours learning to handle the standard issue Lee-Enfield rifle, fixing bayonets with muscle memory, and absorbing the choreography of military drill.

When not on the march, he trained in trench warfare. The army had built practice trenches in the desert, complete with dugouts, parapets, and firing steps. Ned and his mates were taught how to construct, occupy, and defend these makeshift defences—lessons that would become vital in the months ahead.

TAKEN ON STRENGTH APRIL 1916

By 1 April, Ned was officially taken on strength of the 47th Battalion, a unit formed from a mix of Gallipoli veterans and new reinforcements like himself. The men hailed mostly from Queensland and Tasmania, and were part of the newly created 4th Australian Division. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Walter McDonald, the battalion now trained as a cohesive unit, learning how to operate as platoons and companies in set-piece attacks and defences.

Much of their preparation focused on what lay ahead in Europe. There were gas mask drills to prepare for the unseen terror of chlorine and phosgene. They trained with grenades and the newly issued Lewis machine guns, practised carrying the wounded from no man's land, and studied maps of foreign fields they had never seen.

Ned would have also attended lectures on the war in France—tales of mud, lice, trench foot and unending artillery. It was a sobering education. Yet the men kept their humour, their resolve stiffened by mateship and the knowledge that soon, they would be among the Australians taking the fight to the Western Front.

WESTERN FRONT & TRENCH WARFARE JUNE 1916

On 2 June 1916, the long wait came to an end. The 47th Battalion boarded HMT Caledonia in Alexandria and set sail for France. As the Egyptian coastline faded into the distance, Ned left behind the desert heat, the makeshift trenches, and the training fields of Tel el Kebir. Ahead lay the battlefields of Europe, and with them, the true test of all he had learned.

The soldiers now found themselves fighting the Germans in trench warfare. On the Western Front in 1914–1918, both sides constructed elaborate trench, underground, and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The area between opposing trench lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties. Trench warfare created a living environment for the men which was harsh, stagnant, and extremely dangerous. Not only were trenches constantly under threat of attack from shells or other weapons, but there were also many health risks that developed into large-scale problems for medical personnel. Apart from the inescapable cold during the winters in France & Belgium, trenches were often completely waterlogged and muddy, and crawling with lice and rats

The time soldiers spent in the trenches varied depending on factors like their army's rotation system and the intensity of the conflict in their sector. On average:

·      Front-line trenches: Soldiers typically remained here for about 4–6 days at a time. This was where the fighting was most intense and the conditions were the harshest.

·      Support and reserve trenches: After time on the front line, soldiers were rotated to these positions for around 6–12 days. These trenches were set further back and offered slightly better conditions.

·      Rest periods: Soldiers were then moved away from the trench system entirely for rest, training, and recovery, often lasting several weeks, depending on operational needs.

The rotation system helped prevent complete physical and mental exhaustion, but the constant dangers of trench life meant there was rarely any true respite.

JUNE TO AUGUST 1916

Ned stepped onto French soil at Marseilles on 9 June 1916, disembarking with the 47th Battalion after the long voyage from Alexandria. From there, the men were herded into troop trains and rumbled northwards across the French countryside—through towns that still bore the quiet scars of war, past shattered buildings and fields pocked by artillery.

The battalion soon arrived in the Armentières sector, an area on the Franco-Belgian border often dubbed the “nursery” of the Western Front. It was a quieter part of the line, used to introduce new troops to the realities of trench warfare. For Ned, this was the final step in his transformation from trainee to soldier. He learned the rhythms of life at the front: long hours in the line, sleepless nights on sentry duty, and the constant awareness that danger lurked just a shell burst away.

But the calm of Armentières did not last. In mid-July, the 47th was moved south to join the Australian forces converging on the Somme, where the British had launched a massive offensive. The Australians were tasked with taking the ruined village of Pozières, a name that would soon become etched in sorrow.

BATTLE OF POZIERES AUGUST 1916

By early August, the 47th Battalion had been drawn into the fighting. The battlefield was a shattered landscape of mud, debris, and unburied dead, pounded night and day by artillery. The Germans fought fiercely to hold their positions, and the Australians suffered terribly in the attempt to push them back.

WOUNDED IN ACTION/DIED OF WOUNDS AUGUST 1916

It was during this inferno—on 8 August 1916—that Ned was struck by shellfire. He sustained a serious wound to the head, likely caused by a high-explosive shell in or near the front line. He was evacuated as quickly as possible, admitted to the 13th Australian Field Ambulance, and transferred to a casualty clearing station for treatment. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, Ned died of his wounds on 9 August 1916. He was just 25 years old.

BURIAL WARLOY-BAILLON COMMUNAL CEMETERY

Ned was laid to rest in the Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension, a quiet and carefully tended burial ground in the French countryside, where hundreds of Australian and British soldiers lie side by side. His grave, Plot 7, Row B, Grave 15, is marked with a simple headstone, & stands in solemn witness to the sacrifice he made so far from home.

In the end, Ned spent less than two months on the Western Front. Yet he gave everything in that short time, fighting through one of the most brutal chapters of the war. Though his life was cut tragically short, his name endures—on his grave, in the records of the 47th Battalion, and in the memory of a grateful nation.

FOR HIS SERVICE

For his service Ned was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal and his name is recorded on the Murwillumbah War Memorial & Burringbar War Memorial. His name is also recorded on the Roll of Honour  in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial Number 144 among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE SEPTEMBER 1916

In accordance with the practice of the day, the Tweed Daily newspaper on 13 Sep 1916 published the following acknowledgement of Edward’s death. It was headed “Burringbar. Private Edward Rice – Killed in Action,” and reads: “How they fought and fell, the cables daily tell is vividly brought home to us, for on Monday a cable imparted the sad news that another Burringbar soldier had gone. Private Edward Rice killed in action, August 9.

Ned, or Bendy, as he was familiarly known, was a brother of the two Rice boys who fell on Gallipoli on 9 and 10 August 1915. He died fighting for his country on 9 August 1916, twelve months to the day that his brother Henry was sniped on Gallipoli. Two other brothers, Joe and Bob, sailed last week to fight for the just cause. Three out of the five brothers have been killed. Surely this is an example that the stay-at-home shirkers might well follow. There are families who have not given even one volunteer, and the Rice boys, who left property and prosperous farms, could have put forward the excuse that they had too much at stake to go to war, but to their credit five of the family volunteered, and now three have gone – honourably killed in action.” The Tweed Daily went on to say “The deepest sympathy is felt for Mrs Rice and family in their sad bereavement and expressions of sorrow are to be heard on all sides for Ned, a well-known and popular figure through the Tweed district in the football field and at all sport.” Of the two remaining brothers, Joe was wounded in action and was medically discharged some six months later in Dec 1917. Bob was the only brother to see out the end of the War and was discharged in Jul 1919. Sadly, their mother Elizabeth died in early 1918 and would never have known the fate of all her sons.

If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.