The Vear Family

Emily Eliza Vear

Birth: 16 April 1857, in Damper Creek, Boroondara, Victoria, Australia

Father: William Vear

Mother: Sophia (Hawkins) Vear

Death: 1861

Burial: 13 April 1861, in Burwood cemetery, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

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Frederick William Vear

Birth: 22 November 1860, in Boroondara East, Victoria, Australia

Father: William Vear

Mother: Sophia (Hawkins) Vear

Married: Gertrude Hurrey in 1887

Children: Death: 12 January 1945, in Hartwell, Victoria, Australia

Notes: At the death of his son Kenneth in 1917, Frederick is recorded as living in Healsville, Victoria.

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Frederick Steadman Vear

Birth: 4 August 1888, in Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Father: Frederick William Vear

Mother: Gertrude (Hurrey) Vear

Married: Ada Evelyn Quittenden on 10 November 1914. Ada was born on 16 August 1887, in Prahran, Victoria, the daughter of Charles Quittenden and Alice (Elsworth) Quittenden. She died on 7 August 1976, in Kew, Victoria.

Death: 7 June 1933

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George Vear

Birth: 30 July 1853, in Prahran, Victoria, Australia

Father: William Vear

Mother: Sophia (Hawkins) Vear

Death: 14 November 1854, at Union Estate, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Buried: 16 November 1854, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Kenneth William Vear

Birth: 1891, in Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Father: Frederick William Vear

Mother: Gertrude (Hurrey) Vear

Occupation: Orchardist

Death: 3 October 1917, during the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge in Zonnebeke, Belgium. Ken "had just laid out the white tape used to mark the jumping off point when he was hit in the abdomen by a sniper's bullet" and he died very soon after.
White House cemetery, Belgium
White House Cemetery in Belgium where Kenneth is buried
photograph from Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Buried: White House Cemetery, St Jean-les-Ypres, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium; Grave Reference: III. L. 7. The inscription on his headstone reads "Good old Ken. A blokes bloke"

Notes: Kenneth was a sergeant with the 37th Battalion, Australian Infantry, A.I.F. (Australian Imperial Force). His service record has been researched by Len Kelly:

37th Battalion, 5 Platoon, B Coy
10th Brigade
3rd Division

Name, rank & number: 513 Sgt Ken William Vear
Reinforcement batch: Original 37th Bn
Date & place of enlistment: 1 February 1916, Melbourne
Age on enlistment: 24
Year & place of birth: 1891, Burwood, Victoria
Occupation: Orchardist
Religion: Methodist
Physical Description: 6' ¼" , fresh brown eyes, brown hair
Marital status: Single
NOK & address: Father, Frederick Vear, Burwood, Victoria
Embarkation date and ship: 3 Jun 1916, Persic
Repatriation date & ship: -
Date of discharge: -
Total service: 1yr 8mths
Overseas service: 1yr 4mths
Fate: Killed in Action 3 Oct 1917
Sicknesses:    Nil
Crimes:    Nil
Battle honours:     Messines 1917, Ypres 1917,  Polygon Wood. Poelcappelle Broodseinde Ridge, France & Flanders 1916-1918
Service Outline:   
15 Apr 1916    Enlisted in the AIF
3 Jun 1916       Embarked for England
1 May 1916     Promoted to corporal
23 Nov 1916   Promoted to Lance Sergeant
22 Nov 1916   37th Bn sailed for France
1 March 1917  Promoted to sergeant
7-8 Jun 1917   Wounded in action, Messines, GSW cheek
10 Aug 1917    Rejoined 37th Bn
3 Oct 1917      Killed in Action near Broodseinde Ridge
Summary:    Ken Vear was a keen and intelligent young man who would almost certainly have been commissioned as an officer had he not been killed in action. An original member of the 37th Bn he was quickly promoted to Sergeant. His first major action was at Messines where he took a bullet wound to the cheek. This kept him out of action for two months. His next major action was Broodseinde Ridge during the Passchendaele offensive. He was now commanding 5 Platoon and was doing a reconnaissance with his peers and his company commander on 3rd Oct 1917. They had just laid out the white tape used to mark the jumping off point when he was hit in the abdomen by a sniper?s bullet. At over 6' Ken may have well been the obvious target for a German sniper.  He mates evacuated him by stretcher but he died very soon after and was buried on the battlefield. His friend Sgt Grey of A Coy summed Ken up, "He was a particular friend of mind and gee whiz he was a fine fellow".  His possessions including field glasses, religious book, fountain pen, watch & chain were returned to his father. Ken was exhumed and is now buried in the Whitehouse cemetery near Ypres. In the early 1920's his father received a letter from the Commonwealth inviting him to provide an inscription for Ken's headstone up to 66 characters long but reminding him that the cost of each letter to the Commonwealth would be 3 ½ pence. The inscription reads "Good old Ken. A blokes bloke".

Sources:

Leslie Hawkins Vear

Birth: 20 May 1890, in Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Father: Frederick William Vear

Mother: Gertrude (Hurrey) Vear

Married: Emma Rainey Hill on 16 December 1914, in Burwood, Victoria, Australia. Emma was born on 8 May 1893 in Lilydale, Victoria, the daughter of Frederick Jesse Hill and Sarah (White) Hill. She died in 1953, in Frankston, Victoria, and was buried on 10 August 1953, in Springvale, Victoria, Australia.

Death: 28 March 1978, in Frankston, Victoria, Australia

Buried: 30 March 1978, in Springvale, Victoria, Australia

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Sophia Annie (Vear) Muir

Birth: 6 May 1855, at Union Estate, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Father: William Vear

Mother: Sophia (Hawkins) Vear

Married: Malcolm Muir on 22 May 1872, at the house of William Vear in Norwood, Victoria, Australia. Witnesses: Robert Stevenson, Helen Fulton.

Children: Death: 1925, in Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia

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William Vear

Baptism: 25 December 1819, in Stoke Damerel, Devon, England

Father: George Vear

Mother: Mary (Congdon) Vear

Married: Sophia Hawkins on 12 March 1852 at the Colonial Chaplain's House, Durban, Natal
William Vear is recorded as a bachelor, of full age. He is a gardener, resident in D'Urban. Sophia Hawkins is recorded as a spinster, of full age, resident in D'Urban. The marriage was performed by W. H. Lloyd, M. A., Colonial Chaplain, and witnessed by Richard Webber Tyzack.

Children: Occupation: Gardener

Death: 10 January 1878, at Fakenham Road, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Buried: 11 January 1878, in Burwood Cemetery, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Notes: William sailed from London, England on 9 January 1850 to Durban, Natal on the Edward (passenger list), arriving 2 May 1850. On the same ship was Richard Tyzack and his wife Louisa Hawkins, the sister of the woman he would marry 2 years later. It is unknown if William Vear knew the Tyzacks and Hawkins before leaving, and deliberately sailed on the same ship as his friend, or if the chance encounter on the boat was the start of the relationships that led to his marriage.

Also on board the Edward was a shipwright, George Vear. There is no proof, but it seems likely, that George and William would have been related.

William and Sophia didn't stay long in Natal. Eight months after their marriage, they arrived in Australia.

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