William Frederick (Bill) Madden

First Name: 
William
Middle Name: 
Frederick
Last Name: 
Madden
Date Enlisted: 
Wednesday, June 12, 1918
Date of Death: 
Tuesday, August 22, 1989
Details: 

Bill was born at Bulli, and moved to Braeside Farm with his family in 1906. He helped his father on the farm until old enough to start work with the Bank of New South Wales.

His brother Frank had joined the A.I.F. in 1916. One of Bill's daughters said that after Frank's death, his body could not be retrieved for burial, and it was then that Bill decided to enlist to try to get to France. He and Frank had been very close. His mother Rose was very upset with his enlistment, give she had already lost one son.

He enlisted on 12 June 1918 at Newcastle where he was working with the bank.

While on leave in Ireland Bill married Anne Mulligan in 1920 in Dublin, and brought her back to Australia with him.

They lived for a brief time at Sans Souci, then bought land and a house at Britannia Street, Pennant Hills, where their six children and lots of vegetables were raised. After the war Bill went back to work at the bank, and after retiring bought a house and land at Kangaroo Valley. Bill planted beautiful vegetable, fruit and flower gardens at the Valley, with all the Sydney-based grandchildren visiting in the school holidays. He occasionally had his mother Rose to stay in the Valley with him. In later years, as ill health set it, he went and stayed with his daughter Eileen (an her husband) at Innisfail, then lived with his daughter Kathleen (and her husband) at Pennant Hills, then back to Innisfail, then finally into a nursing home near his younges tdaughter Mona where he passed away in 1989.

Bill and Annie are buried at North Rocks Catholic Cemetery. All the grandchildren have very fond memories of their 'Pop', who made them welcome at the Valley, telling stories and playing endless games of cribbage. When he had plenty of veggies and fruit in season he would set off in his old green Chev to visit various family members and take his produce to share.

His eldest grand-daughter recalls her Pop saying that the Great War had taken his lovely brother and that he thought war was futile.  He did not speak of any details of his war service. He was one of the most loving men you could meet, he made every one of his fourteen grandchildren feel that they were the 'special' child.

Images

Sepia photograph of William Frederick Madden with comrades
Sepia photograph of William Frederick Madden