FERRIER, Ivo Elmore St Cloud (1893-1918).JPG)
I E Ferrier (War Service)
Ivo Elmore Ferrier was born on 22 September 1893 at Elmore, the son of James Drysdale Ferrier and Emily nee Bishop and was educated at Echuca Grammar School and Geelong College in 1909. His address at enrolment was the Bank of NSW, Echuca.
At the time of his enlistment during World War I (No 230) on 6 July 1915 he was pursuing pastoral pursuits at Echuca.
He embarked for Egypt on
HMAT A11 Ascanius on 10 November. After about four months with the 8th Brigade there he went on to France, where he went into the first great fight at Fleurbaix on 19 July 1916. Transferred to 5 Battalion, Australian Machine Gun Corps, and after a short leave in England, he fought in Belgium, later in France, and again in Belgium, where he was killed near Neuve Eglise on 22 March, 1918 - the second day of the great German offensive.
Memorial to Ivo Elmore Ferrier (Hatton)
He was buried at Kandahar Farm Cemetery, Belgium - Grave II.H.24, beside his comrades who also died that day, Pte S H Gale, Dvr H J Mills, and Pte W L Shillabeer. The epitaph on his headstone reads:
'HE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT
HE RAN A STRAIGHT RACE
HE EARNED HIS REWARD.'
The
Riverine Herald (Echuca) reported on 15 April 1918:
'Mr A F Cunningham brother-in-law, chemist, on Saturday received by telegram from Mr J D Ferrier, manager of the Bank of New South Wales, Warragul, the sad intelligence that his son, Pte Ivo Ferrier, had been killed in action in France on March 22. It is over two years since Pte Ferrier, who was in the Machine Gun section, left Echuca. When he enlisted he resided on the land at Barmah, but was a frequent visitor to Echuca, where he had many friends and admirers. He was a fine young type of young Australian, and many will hear of his death with regret. He was only 24 years of age, and unmarried. The sympathy of the public is extended to Mr J D Ferrier in the loss of an only son and child. Mr Ferrier was manager for eight years of the Bank of New South Wales at Moama, and was subsequently for three years at the Echuca branch before being transferred to Warragul.' The AWM Collection holds a studio portrait taken in 1916 of Dvr Ivo Elmore Ferrier, 5 Machine Gun Battalion, from Echuca, and Alex Henderson.
Sources: Geelong Collegians at the Great War compiled by James Affleck. pp (citing Pegasus May 1918; Commonwealth War Graves Commission; The Riverine Herald (Echuca) 15 April 1918; Photo Pegasus May 1918; AWM P03544.002); Memorial Image, 2016 - Courtesy Les Hatton.