Major Nigel ParburyPrint Page

The original cross which marked the grave, was unveiled to commemorate Major Nigel Parbury, who was killed in action in France during World War One. 

War Memorial Unveiled. On Sunday morning, 28th July, a service was held in connection with the unveiling of the original cross which marked the grave of the late Major Nigel Parbury where he fell at La Bassee, France, in A.D., 1915. The service was taken Rev. Canon Cadell; the congregation being a very large one, and including Mrs. F. N. Parbury and Master Ronald Parbury (widow and son), and Miss Parbury (sister), returned soldiers in charge of Colonel A. A. White, and many old friends of the late Major Parbury. The hymns, "How Bright These Glorious Spirits Shine" and "O Valiant Hearts" were sung, and appropriate prayers offered.

The cross which was affixed to the wall of the Church below the Soldiers' Memorial, was unveiled by Master Parbury, when the act of commemoration, "Hallowed in Christ be the memory of the brave men," etc., was recited by the Canon. A silence of one minute followed, and the National Anthem was sung. The Rector gave a brief address, as follows: — Major Parbury was well known to many of you when residing in Scone as a warm-hearted, manly, and genuine spirited man. The occasion calls for sympathetic, silent and grateful memory of the deceased soldier, rather than a sermon, so I will confine myself to reading the record from the British Roll of Honor:

Frederick Nigel Parbury, born at Invermien, Scone, on 13th May, 1879. He joined the Royal Australian Artillery in January, 1899, and his battery in 1901. In the following August he left England for South Africa, where he was attached to the 40th Battery as Second Lieutenant, and served with it to the end of hostilities, receiving the South African Medal, with five clasps. In 1905, Major Parbury went with the Battery to Dinapore, then to Lucknow in 1908, to Bareilly five years later, and then to France in September, 1914, on active service. There, with the exception of a few days, he was in action near La Bassee, where he was killed by the bursting of a shell in his observing station, on 9th May, 1915. (The above extracts are copied from the British Roll of Honor). The Rector concluded the service by giving two appropriate quotations. Remarkably well preserved the cross bears embossed on strips of metal, the following: "17-B-5. Major F. N. Parbury, R.F.A., No. 9515."
Scone Advocate (NSW),  6 August 1929. 

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