Philip Norman Teare 1892-1917

Philip Norman TearePhilip Norman Teare was born 20 March 1892 near the town of Happy Valley, O’Halloran Hill, South Australia son of Philip Thomas Teare and Lucy Isabelle Kenihan. Philip worked as Porter on the South Australia Railways living in Keswick, South Australia.

He enlisted into the army in December 1915 in Adelaide and was described as 5ft 6½in tall, 132 lbs with medium complexion dark hair and grey eyes. He was posted to A Coy 2nd Depot Battn then to the 27th Infantry Battn of the Australian Imperial Forces and was posted overseas in 1916. They left Adelaide in March and arrived in France in September.

On 20 September 1917 the 27th Battn took part in the Battle of Menin Road. During the battle, they were committed to the fighting as part of the first wave, which routed the German forces.  Advancing under a cover of artillery and machine gun fire, the battalion captured a section of the German line known as the ‘Blue Line’ between Polygon Wood and a position known as the Iron Cross Redoubt.Later, they successfully took part in the Battle of Broodenseinde on 4 October,which was their last major offensive action in 1917.

Philip received shrapnel wounds to his knee in May 1917 and on 14th October was promoted to Corporal. Two weeks after his promotion the battalion was sent forward to the front line as part of the continuing Second Battle of Paschendale (also called the 3rd Battle of Ypres).

He was fatally wounded on 28 October when the Battn diary records they were ‘in the same positions C Coy carried 29th Bn rations to the front line. Heavy bombardment of the Anzac and Westhoek ridge with mustard gas shells ‘. Philip Norman Teare died of his wounds (gas poisoning) on 2 November 1917 in 17th Casualty Clearing Hospital, Belgium and is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetry, Poperinge, West Flanders and is remembered on the Australian War Memorial.

 

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John Stewart Teare 1893 – 1917

John_Teare_2[1]John Stewart Teare was born in Balwyn, Victoria, Australia in 1893 the second son of  John Corlett Teare and and Marion Melville McLulick Smith. John Corlett Teare was born in the Isle of Man and worked at Bennie, Teare and Co of Beckett Street Melbourne who were the sole Australian distributors for the Birmingham engineering company Tangyes, manufacturers of large engineering equipment used in farming, industry and mining.

John Stewart Teare was also working for Bennie, Teare and Co. and he enlisted in England in 1914, when he was at Birmingham University studying electrical engineering. He was first a private in the King Edwards Horse and 6 months later he gained a commission in the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) 180th Bde. He was posted to France in December 1915 and  promoted to 2nd Lieut  and then Lieut. He was awarded a Military Cross for valour in 1916.

He was killed in 1917 and with no known grave his name is recorded on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium.

His elder brother, Athol M Teare, served in the Australian Imperial Force, New South Wales Division and gained an MC for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He was wounded in this action and hospitalised in England before returning to the front. He returned to Australia after the war. His younger brother Philip Teare joined the Australian Imperial Force becoming a Captain in the artillery.

Teare

The name Teare comes from the Isle of Man and is derived from the Scottish name MacIntyre. In the early years of the 20th century the Manx economy was in decline due to the collapse of the fishing catch and Dumbells Bank crash in 1900. As a result many young men and women left the island looking for work and better opportunities. Teare is not a common name and estimates suggest there are now about 700 Teare’s  in the UK (including the Isle of Man) and between 5-600 in the USA plus another 100 in each of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

This site is being developed to bring together all things Teare – family and social history, unusual facts and stories and anything else related to the name.

I look forward to hearing from you, please tell your Teare friends and relatives about the site and share your stories and anecdotes.

Mike