John Bisdee

John Hutton Bisdee
Major John Bisdee c.1915
Born 28 September 1869
Melton Mowbray, Tasmania
Died 14 January 1930(1930-01-14) (aged 60)
Jericho, Tasmania
Buried St James Churchyard, Jericho
Allegiance Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 1900–03
1906–21
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Commands held 26th Light Horse Regiment (1913–15)
Battles/wars

Second Boer War
First World War

Awards Victoria Cross
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches

John Hutton Bisdee, VC, OBE (28 September 1869 – 14 January 1930) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life and family

Bisdee was born on 28 September 1869 at Hutton Park, Melton Mowbray, Tasmania.

The wedding of John Hutton Bisdee and Georgiana Thodosia Hale at Newlands in Hobart, Tasmania in 1904.

In 1904 he married Georgiana Thodosia Hale who was the daughter of Bishop Matthew Blagden Hale.

Military service

When Bisdee was 30 years old, and a trooper with the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen during the Second Boer War,[1] the following deeds took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 1 September 1900 near Warm Bad, Transvaal, South Africa, Trooper Bisdee was one of an advance scouting party passing through a narrow gorge, when the enemy suddenly opened fire at close range and six out of the party of eight were wounded, including two officers. The horse of one of the wounded officers bolted and Trooper Bisdee dismounted, put the officer on his own horse and took him out of range of the very heavy fire.[2]

Bisdee returned to Tasmania in 1902, and received the Victoria Cross from the Governor during a review in Hobart on 11 August 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII.[3]

He later served as a lieutenant colonel in the First World War, where he was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), as well as being Mentioned in Despatches.

Later life

He died on 14 January 1930 and was buried in the St James Churchyard, Jericho, Tasmania. His Victoria Cross is on display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.

References

Footnotes
  1. ↑ "First World War Service Record – John Hutton Bisdee". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "No. 11250". The London Gazette. 16 November 1900. p. 1111.
  3. ↑ "Latest intelligence - The Coronation - Hobart". The Times (36845). London. 13 August 1902. p. 3.
Bibliography
  • L. A. Simpson, 'Bisdee, John Hutton (1869–1930)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, Melbourne University Press, 1979, pp 298–299.
  • "Boer War and First World War Service Record – John Hutton Bisdee". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
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