Robert Courtney Green
A few weeks ago I realized I had some pretty glaring holes in one branch of my great-grandmother's family tree. The lack of research I had done on this family was especially apparent when I looked at her mother's family. I hadn't really traced her collateral line, sister Elizabeth Tizzard's family, either. So, I spent an afternoon researching what I could. The same old brick-walls came up but I had better luck researching Elizabeth and her family. I was especially amazed at what I found when researching Elizabeth's grandson, Robert Courtney Green.
The Battle of Fromelles has been called one of the darkest events in Australian history. In July of 1916, German forces (reportedly including a young Adolf Hitler) met British and Australian troops in Fromelles, a community in northern France near the Belgium border. The Allies suffered heavy losses, especially the Australians who lost over 5,500 men. Most of the dead ended up in mass, unmarked graves.
In 2009, over ninety years later, 250 British and Australian soldiers were found in one of the largest war graves discovered in recent years. Among those discovered were the remains of Robert Courtney Green, who was British born but had moved to Australia and was in Fromelles as part of the AIF (Australian Imperial Force). He was identified thanks to DNA testing and put to rest in a new Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in July of last year.
Robert Courtney Green had left England to find a life free from the British class system in Australia and settled near Perth. He enlisted in the 32nd Battalion and went to Egypt to train. Not long after arriving in France, he was killed after being shot in battle and died a few days before his thirty-first birthday. His identity tags were sent back to his family, confirming his death.
Among the pieces of information I found on Robert Courtney Green is this video, produced by St. Mary's Cathedral College:
Robert Courtney Green from St Mary's Cathedral College on Vimeo.
Partial Family Tree:
1. William Tizzard and Harriet Gibbons
2. Susanna Tizzard (Croad) 2. Elizabeth Tizzard (Courtney) --- sisters
3. Frederick Rendle Croad 3. Jane Courtney (Green) ------ first cousins
4. Daisy Mae Croad (Allen) 4. Robert Courtney Green ------ second cousins
(Daisy Mae Croad was my great-grandmother)
The Battle of Fromelles has been called one of the darkest events in Australian history. In July of 1916, German forces (reportedly including a young Adolf Hitler) met British and Australian troops in Fromelles, a community in northern France near the Belgium border. The Allies suffered heavy losses, especially the Australians who lost over 5,500 men. Most of the dead ended up in mass, unmarked graves.
In 2009, over ninety years later, 250 British and Australian soldiers were found in one of the largest war graves discovered in recent years. Among those discovered were the remains of Robert Courtney Green, who was British born but had moved to Australia and was in Fromelles as part of the AIF (Australian Imperial Force). He was identified thanks to DNA testing and put to rest in a new Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in July of last year.
Robert Courtney Green had left England to find a life free from the British class system in Australia and settled near Perth. He enlisted in the 32nd Battalion and went to Egypt to train. Not long after arriving in France, he was killed after being shot in battle and died a few days before his thirty-first birthday. His identity tags were sent back to his family, confirming his death.
Among the pieces of information I found on Robert Courtney Green is this video, produced by St. Mary's Cathedral College:
Robert Courtney Green from St Mary's Cathedral College on Vimeo.
Partial Family Tree:
1. William Tizzard and Harriet Gibbons
2. Susanna Tizzard (Croad) 2. Elizabeth Tizzard (Courtney) --- sisters
3. Frederick Rendle Croad 3. Jane Courtney (Green) ------ first cousins
4. Daisy Mae Croad (Allen) 4. Robert Courtney Green ------ second cousins
(Daisy Mae Croad was my great-grandmother)
I am Robert Courtney Greens great great niece, he is my mums great uncle, there was a programme filmed by channel 4 in england called WW1:Finding the lost battalions which shows my mums journey to find out what happened to Robert and his fiance Nancy
ReplyDeleteI am Robert Courtney Greens great great niece, he is my mums great uncle, there was a programme filmed by channel 4 in england called WW1:Finding the lost battalions which shows my mums journey to find out what happened to Robert and his fiance Nancy
ReplyDeleteMy wife Teresa Westerling's great uncle was Robert Courtney Green.We were much involved with the UK channel 4 film Finding The Lost Battalions and provided a lot of the information now available. RCG,s mother Jane Green was the daughter of Elizabeth Courtney nee Tizzard. Four generations Elizabeth Tizzard, Jane Green, Helen Courtney Burrows, nee Green, shared a house in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, UK from about 1910 to 1920. We hold a large archive of letters, photos and other family ephemera which was handed down from that period. Its contents date from 1870 to 1920. There is info on Tizzards and Croads.
ReplyDeleteI have digitised some of this and would be happy to share. We live in Southampton UK.
Kind regards Graham Westerling
Hi Graham, I'd be very interested in whatever you might have on the family. I can share what I have on the Tizzards if you're interested. My 3rd great-grandmother was Elizabeth Tizzard Courtney's sister, Susanna Tizzard Croad. My ancestor was Susanna's son, Frederick, who went to Wales and then the US (Michigan). Thanks for writing, Leah (in California)
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