No.5675  Private Samuel Phillip Eddy
Samuel Phillip Eddy Snr was born in 1877 in Bendigo, Victoria.

Samuel, was 21 and his wife, Grace Louisa, was 19 when they were married in 1897 and had seven children.

• Samuel Philip - 1898-1966
• William Clive - 1899-1970
• Richard Thomas - 1901-1954
• Albert George - 1904-1979
• Ethel Mavis - 1906-1992
• Olive Grace - 1912-2002
• Leslie James - 1915-1981

In 1913 he opened a tailoring establishment at Werribee. His eldest son Samuel Phillip Jnr took up the profession and work with his father.

War Service
Samuel enlisted on 5 February 1916 at Melbourne Town Hall.  On his enlistment papers his Next of Kin was his wife and she lived at Werribee, Victoria.

Samuel trained at Broadmeadows Camp up until the 28 April 1916.

He left Melbourne for Plymouth on 3 July 1916, per Ayrshire, arriving in Plymouth, England on 2 September 1916.

After further training in England, he shipped to France from Folkestone on board S.S. Victoria on 2 February 1917 where he officially joined the 7th Battalion.

He was admitted to hospital on 18 May 1917 and evacuated to England suffering from influenza on 21 May 1917.  In those days influenza was a potentially life-threatening illness. Samuel then spent the next four-five months moving from one hospital to the next. He was invalided home with trench fever, which greatly weakened his constitution.

He embarked to Australia on HT Port Lyttleton on 19 October 1917, arriving in Melbourne on the 15 December 1917 and was discharged (Rheumatism and age) from service on 22 January 1918 in Melbourne.

Post War
On his return he continued to follow his calling as a tailor in Werribee until about 1927, when he removed to Woodend. Two months before his death he moved back to Werribee and re-opened his business. Since his return from Woodend he had been living with his son, Samuel, at Mrs. Balchin's residence in Deutgam Street, Werribee.

Samuel died on 20 September 1931 in Werribee, Victoria at the age of 54. He had been out walking with his two dogs and when nearing the Cherry Street railway crossing on the way home he suddenly collapsed and died from heart failure.

The funeral left for the local cemetery on Tuesday afternoon. R.S.S.I.L.A. members took a prominent part in proceedings and the coffin and pall bearers were all returned men. The coffin bearers were Messrs. C. Kershaw, A. Blake, W.Blake and A. Jones. The pall was supported by Messrs. F. Lyons, E. H. Bugg, B. Jackson, W. T. Phillips, A. E. Delany, D. Hanley, B. Auhl, L. Verity and P. Connors. The Rev. C. J. Peterson officiated at the graveside. Mr. E. W. Jackson, the Williamstown undertaker, had charge of the funeral arrangements.
Werribee Shire Banner, 24 September 1931, p.5.

The late Mr. Eddy was the first captain of the Werribee Fire Brigade, while for over twelve months he held the position of secretary of the Werribee sub-branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (R.S.S.I.L.A.). It was the forerunner of today’s Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL). Before the war he was also on the committee of the local Coursing Club.

His wife Grace passed away on the 4 February 1940 in Ballarat, Victoria, at the age of 61.

Medals and Entitlements:

• British War Medal
• Victory Medal

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