Was Bruce the black sheep?

Bruce Ward, right, with Manasseh
centre and Roy left. Mid 1920s?

I was brought up under the impression that Manasseh and Madeline's Ward's youngest son, Bruce, was the black sheep of the family. The story was that he had forged a cheque on his mother's account, then vanished, leaving his young children at his mother's home. 

The black sheep idea was a bit of a puzzle to me, because I was also named Bruce. Why would I have been named after the black sheep of the family? I think that bit of the puzzle was not hard to solve, because my Dad had very fond memories of Bruce's son Bruce Jr from the time in the early 1930s when the two children were living at Myee with Madeline and Amy. Dad's family lived just over the road from Myee, and Bruce Jr was Dad's favourite playmate. But they lost contact when the children went to live with their mother's family and Dad always wondered what became of his mate (more on that at the end of this post).

Bruce Leon Clive Ward was the youngest son of Manasseh and Madeline Ward. He was born at ‘Myee’, Gertrude Street Gosford Gosford in July 1896.  

We don’t know a lot about Bruce’s life growing up, but he was the youngest in a large family. He had four older sisters, Josephine 20, Madeline 18, Amy six and Doris (Dolly) two. He had six older brothers, William 16, Robert 14, Roy nine, Ephraim eight, Eric five and Pat four. His mother had a generous and regular income from a trust set up by her grandfather, and Bruce, like all the children, would have had a good education.

Bruce’s father was a superb bushman but devoted a lot of his time to civic duty, serving on the local Council and participating in almost every community organisation in town. The Gosford of Bruce’s youth was still a country town and all Bruce’s brothers were good bushmen. Bruce had a natural skill with horses, and in a family of bushman, may have been the best horseman of the lot!

When he left school, Bruce took up an apprenticeship with the Government Railways to train as an engineer (fitter and turner).  As soon as the Great War started in 1914, Bruce joined up. He was only 17, and was not eligible for active service, so he was put into an infantry unit until he was 18. At 18 he was enlisted into the Light Horse and was soon on his way to the front line in the middle east, were he served as a machine gunner in the 2nd Light Horse. 

Bruce was part of the allied advance across the Sanai and the subsequent fighting to secure outposts on the border of Palestine. His battalion was involved in the abortive second battle of Gaza in April 1917. This may have been where he was injured, because within two weeks he was in a field hospital. The military records give scant details, but piecing together the records with later evidence, it seems that Bruce may have been injured in an explosion and suffered shrapnel wounds to his back and leg. He also suffered permanent hearing loss on one side. He was repatriated to Australia and discharged as medically unfit.

In 1924 he married Esther Rich. Bruce was 28 and Esther 18. They lived in Sydney and Goulburn and Bruce worked on the railways as a fitter. They had two children, Joyce in 1824 and Bruce Jr in 1925. Esther died in June 1929, following a self-induced abortion. 

We will never know exactly what happened next, but Bruce left the children with his mother in Gosford and as far as the family were concerned, he vanished. There are a lot of stories around the family and some of them were possibly theories made up in the absence of any information. 

We now know that Bruce went to live in the Wellington area of New Zealand where he worked with New Zealand railways. He lived out his later life in a War Veteran's home and he died there in 1976, aged 80 (although it says 83 on his grave).

Bruce Ward's grave in New Zealand. There is no doubt that
this is Manasseh and Madeline's son. The 'Trooper Number'
706 is also written on his army enlistment form, on the same
page as his next-of-kin, Manasseh Ward.

The children lived with Madeline in Gosford for several years, but Madeline's health was failing and they eventually went to live with Esther's family. Bruce must have remained in touch with his children, because his son Bruce Jr listed him as his next of kin when he enlisted in the air force in WWII. He had the correct address in Petone, near Wellington, where Bruce is listed in the New Zealand Electoral Rolls.

My Dad never reconnected with his cousin Bruce Jr. They came close to each other during WWII when they were both on the island of Moratai before the Borneo landings, but neither would have known the other was there - one was in the army, the other the air force. One of my cousins finally tracked Bruce Jr down shortly before he (Bruce) died. History had repeated itself, and Bruce Jr was also estranged from his family.

My own theory is that Bruce Sr was unable to cope when his wife died. He was likely also suffering PTSD from his wartime experience - so he ran away! I have heard that he remained in contact with his brother Roy, who passed on news to some in the family, but not all. There was also a story that Bruce had gone to live in Christchurch and had been killed there in an earthquake. The grave photo above proves this story untrue. 

Doris (Dolly) Ward, daughter if Manasseh and Madeline

Doris Ward was born at Myee, Gertrude Street, Gosford in April 1894, the daughter of Manasseh Ward and Madeline Geary Henderson.  She was always known as Dolly within her family and ‘Aunty Doll’ by her nieces and nephews. 

She had three older sisters, Josephine 17, Madeline 15 and Amy four. She also had six older brothers, William 14, Robert 12, Roy six, Ephraim five, Eric three and Pat one. 

By her third birthday she had a baby brother, Bruce who would be the last child in the family. Her older sisters and Josephine and Madeline Jr had both married by this time and her brother William was apprenticed to a shipwright and living at Woy Woy.

Dolly’s mother, Madeline, received a steady income from a Trust established in her grandfather’s will, and this allowed the family to live comfortably. Like all the children, Dolly had a good education and was an active participant any many of the community activities in Gosford. As one of the younger children she was possibly indulged more than her older siblings had been. In May 1902 she wrote in to the ‘Dear Dame Durden’ column in the Town and Country Journal, describing a visit to Kiama for the Christmas Holidays.  

Dolly’s father, Manasseh Ward, was heavily involved in the local community. He was an alderman on the local council, sat as a Justice of the Peace on the local Court and was involved in almost every community organisation in the town. When Dolly was six months old, Manasseh was elected Mayor and went on to serve multiple terms as Mayor and later Shire President. He was mayor in 1902 when the Premier of NSW, Sir John See,  visited Gosford. The purpose of the trip was for the Premier’s wife, Lady See, to open the annual Flower Show. Six-year-old Dolly presented a basket of flowers to Lady See, an event that justified a sketch in the Sydney newspapers.

Dolly learned to play piano under Mr A. Lovell. In 1911, when she was 17, Dolly’s name is at the top of the list of students who had passed music examinations under the supervision of the London College of Music. She attained the ‘Associate London College of Music with honours'.  This was a significant qualification, just one level short of a Diploma and Dolly was entitled to use the letters ACLM after her name.

Like many of her siblings, she found it difficult to avoid being dragged into he father’s many community activities. One of these was the St John’s Ambulance Association. It seems that the girls were limited to obtaining first aid certificates and helping with entertainment and refreshments. Active participation in the volunteer ambulance squads was probably restricted to men! In 1915, a report about a meeting of the St John’s Ambulance in the Gosford paper shows Doris was awarded her third-year certificate.  Her father was the chairman of the committee and her older sister Amy also received a certificate. Around the same time, her brother Eric was becoming one of the first active members of the volunteer ambulance.

In 1920, Dolly married returned soldier, Frederick Pearce. The bride and groom were both 26. Fred had served with the Light Horse in World War 1 and saw active service in Egypt.

The young couple’s first home was in Concord. They lived for a time with Fred’s parents on a farm at Quakers Hill, then moved to Brighton-le-Sands. Fred worked as a clerk. They had four children born between 1921 and 1928. 

When war broke out in 1939, Fred enlisted again. He served out the second world war in Australia, working in the ordinance vehicles section of the army. By the end of the war he was a Warrant Officer. 

Dolly and Fred separated in the mid to late 1940s. Dolly moved to Exeter, to the south-west of Sydney where she lived on a farm with her daughter Joan. When Joan married in the early 1950s, Dolly went to live with her eldest daughter, Betty who was by that time married and living in Guildford. 

In the mid 1950s Dolly and Fred divorced. Fred would later remarry. He died in 1970.

In the early 1960s she made a final move, returning to the Central Coast where she lived out her days at Wamberal.

Dolly had plenty of company in Wamberal, it was something of a family enclave in the 1960s. Her sisters Madeline Lambert and Amy Ward were there, along with her nieces and nephews Marjory Jardine, Eric Lambert, Amy Michelsen, and Frank Ward. Frank was more like a little brother than a nephew, as he had been raised in the same home as Dolly. In the late 1970s they were all joined by Dolly’s son Geoffrey and his family, who lived next door.

Dolly died in January 1973 and was buried at St Paul’s Kincumber, alongside her father.

Pat Ward - son of Manasseh and Madeline Ward

Pat and Ethel Ward
after their wedding in 1917

Lawrence Keith Stewart Ward was born at ‘Myee’ Gertrude Street Gosford in May 1892, the son of Manasseh Ward and Madeline Geary Henderson.  He was always known as ‘Pat’ except in formal documents. He had three older sisters, Josephine who was 15, Madeline 13 and Amy two. He also had five brothers, William 12, Robert ten, Roy five, Ephraim three and Eric one. Three other brothers had died in infancy.

Pat was one of the younger children in the family and his childhood would have been peppered by the weddings of his older siblings. Josephine married when Pat was four and moved to live with her husband in England. Madeline Jr was next when he was six, followed by Robert when he was 12 and William when he was 13.

The Gosford of Pat’s youth was still a small country town, The railway connection to Sydney had only opened two years before Pat was born and horse transport was still the mainstay until well after Pat started work. His father was a pioneer of the district and heavily involved in the local community. Manasseh was also a superb bushman and raised his children to be able to fend for themselves.

When Pat started work, he followed his father’s original profession, that of a teamster. He built up a team of working horses and worked as a carrier.

In 1917 he married Ethelean (Ethel) Radcliff in Sydney.  They lived in York Street Gosford, near the corner of Frederick Street. There they would raise a family of six children, born between 1918 and 1933. One other child died in infancy.

The horse team was stabled at the home and grazed in paddocks near the house. Pat and Ethel’s son Allen would later write about his father standing on the back landing of their home, calling in the horses, who would lift their heads from their grazing, look towards the house, then walk home through a gate to their individual feed boxes.

The work of the teamster was hard work. The teamster would rise early, well before sunrise, and get the horses ready. The teamster’s wife and children would often help prepare the team, grooming each horse before fitting the harness. The team were trained to work by voice command and the teamster would work them without reins, walking alongside the team. At first, the main source of work was the timber industry, hauling logs and poles from the surrounding bush to the Gosford wharf. Then in 1922 a sandstone quarry was opened and this soon became an important source of work.

The quarry was at the end of a steep hill on Georgiana Terrace, next to the school. Pat would often leave the wagon in the quarry and walk the team home for the night and then walk them back to the quarry in the morning. On such mornings, he was sometimes followed by a group of children on their way to school. The horses would be in a line, each tethered to the one in front with a lead rope. As they arrived at the bottom of the hill, Pat would pause the horses while each child grabbed a handful of horses tail and with a ‘gee-up’ from Pat, the convoy of kids and horses would climb the hill to school and work respectively. 

One haulage job that created huge interest in Gosford at the time was the transport of an 11-ton boiler from the railway yards to the quarry. Hauling 11-tons up the steep incline to the quarry was a huge challenge in the age when horse power was all that was available. Four teams of horses were combined for the pull. In addition to Pat’s team, there was his brother Eric’s team and teams from the Scott brothers and Sid Pink.  

Pat bought his first truck in the late 1920s and by 1930 he was advertising his business as a ‘general Motor Carrier’.  This was at a time when there was no road bridge over the Hawkesbury River. So his trucks were a regular sight on the George and Francis Peat which provided the ferry service across the River near the current M1 freeway bridge. As his children grew, his boys joined the trucking business and ‘Pat Ward & Sons of East Gosford’ was emblazoned on the sides of their trucks

In 1941, Pat’s son Allen was seriously injured in an accident while driving one of the family’s trucks.  This accident marks the beginning of a decline in Pat’s health and some have concluded that despite Allen’s full recovery, his father felt somehow responsible for the accident. After a series of deep depressive episodes, Pat was admitted to hospital where he died in July 1945 aged 53.  He was survived by his wife Ethel, six of his seven children and 10 of his siblings. 

Ethel lived for another 39 years. She died in October 1984 aged 89. She was buried with her husband at St Paul’s Kincumber.

Eric Ward, son of Manasseh and Madeline Ward

Eric and Lena Ward in 1946.

Eric Ward was born at Etna Street Gosford in December 1890, the son of Manasseh Ward and Madeline Geary Henderson.  He had three older sisters, Josephine who was 14, Madeline 12 and Amy one. He also had four brothers, William who was ten, Robert eight, Roy three and Ephraim two. Three other brothers had died in infancy.

The family remained in the Etna Street home until the following year when they moved into a new house in Gertrude Street. The new house was named ‘Myee’. Three more children would be born into the family at Myee, Lawrence (known as Pat) born in 1892, Doris (Dolly) born in 1994 and Bruce born in 1996.

Eric’s father was heavily involved in the local community and was an Alderman on the local Council when Eric was born. Manasseh would go on to serve numerous terms as Mayor, and later, Shire President. Eric’s mother had a steady independent income from a trust set up under her grandfather’s will. Like all the children, Eric had a good education, although in later life he preferred to play the role of the bushman that he no doubt learned from his father.

The Gosford of Eric’s youth was a country town and their family home was surrounded by two acres of gardens, orchards, poultry yards and horse yards. Like many of his siblings, Eric took some of his father’s interests as his own, while choosing not to pursue others. He inherited a deep love of working horses and poultry breeding from his father, but not his passion for horse racing and local government.

Eric probably started work by the time he was 16. His older brothers Bill and Roy were both working locally as agricultural contractors and bush workers, and this is probably where Eric started out as well. But he quickly built up a team of working horses and launched out on his own. He also ran a farm known as ‘the slate mines’, at the end of Maiden’s Brush Road and is described as a 'farmer' in the electoral rolls.

In 1915 Eric married Eleanor Parry, who was known as Lena.  Eric was 25 and Lena 20. The Parry family were, like the Wards, a pioneering family of the Gosford district. Lena's great-grandparents on her father's side arrives as convicts before settling at the Mangrove Creek. Lena’s father and older brothers had a variety of businesses in and around Gosford. Eric and Lena would have ten children, all of whom survived to adulthood.

Eric and Lena’s first home was at the farm on Maiden’s Brush Road. Early in 1922 they moved into Gosford where Eric built a house on the corner of Dwyer and Gertrude Streets, just across the road from his parents. The land had belonged to Manasseh for many years, and Manasseh and Madeline gave it to Eric, possibly as an encouragement to move into town from the relative isolation at the Lime Kilns property.

One of Manasseh’s interests that rubbed off on Eric was the Volunteer Ambulance. By the early 1920s Eric was a member of the Gosford ambulance squad and is recognised as one of the first ambulancemen in the Gosford district. It was a difficult job, particularly given that there was no proper hospital in the town. The Gosford Hospital would not open until after World War II. The ambulancemen used a wheeled stretcher to transport patients when needed. If the patient had to be brought in from an outlying property, the stretcher would sometimes be rigged to be horse drawn. Patients who were seriously ill or injured were transported to hospital in Sydney by train. The train would be met by a horse-drawn ambulance to take the patients to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. 

It was possibly Eric’s ambulance work that kept him in the district while other young men were volunteering to fight in World War I. There was a graphic demonstration of the need for his services when he was called to a boiler explosion at a local sawmill in 1913. One man was killed and several others were seriously injured. Even though Eric did not join the armed forces, he was actively involved in training other men as stretcher bearers and first-aid providers to help wounded soldiers on their return from the front. 

Eric’s horse team worked in hauling timber from the local forests to the Gosford Wharf. The team was also a common sight hauling general freight to and from the railway yards. An important source of work was the Gosford quarry, which was operated by his brother-in-law Henry Parry. Possibly the biggest haulage job of the day was the transport of an 11-ton boiler from the railway yards to the quarry. Hauling 11-tons up the steep incline to the quarry was a huge challenge in the age when horse power was all that was available. Eric’s team managed the job from the railway yards to the intersection of Mann Street and Georgiana Terrace. The final stretch was up a steep hill along Georgiana Terrace to the quarry. Four teams of horses were combined for the final pull. In addition to Eric’s team, there was his brother Pat’s team and teams from the Scott brothers and Sid Pink. 

There is no doubt that Eric's most difficult ambulance job was on Christmas Eve 1937. He was called out to a traffic accident on the Pacific Highway not far from the Ward home in Dwyer Street. Eric arrived at the scene to discover that the injured were his two oldest children. Lena Jr who was 21 and Harold 19 had been walking home from Christmas Eve celebrations in Gosford when they were hit by a car. Lena was killed and Harold was seriously injured. Harold completely recovered, but Lena's death was a huge blow to the family.

Eric persevered with his horse teams well beyond the times when most moved to motor transport. He was arguably the last working teamster in the Gosford district and found it difficult to make a decent living. Things came to a head in the years after WWII and Eric struggled to pay his debts. He was finally forced to sell the land in Dwyer Street. There was enough left from the sale to purchase a small farm on the edge of Gosford, off Mann’s Road.

There was not enough money left to build a new house, so in the early 1950s the house was moved from Dwyer Street to the farm. It took several years to complete the whole process, and Eric, Lena and the younger children, who were still living at home, stayed with various relatives while the work was completed. 

Eric planted a lot of the farm to lemons in the belief that there was a promising market on the horizon. He was right in his belief that there would be good money to be made in lemons, but it would not be in his lifetime.

He retired his horse team but kept the horses, taking a sulky out most days to check on them. Several of is grandchildren have memories of going with Eric to check on the horses. These remain particularly cherished memories, only equalled by the memories of the warm embrace of Lena’s kitchen and the delicious treats that she created on her wood-fired stove.

Lena died in 1961 aged 66. Eric died in 1965 aged 74. Eric and Lena were survived by eight of their nine children and five of Eric’s siblings (Madeline Jr, Amy, Ephraim, Dolly and Bruce).