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Corporal Eric CheneyPrint Page Print this page

04-February-2020
04-February-2020

Photographs supplied by John Huth

The monument erected by friends, commemorates Corporal Eric Cheney who died in Amman, Palestine during World War One. 

It is a rendered plinth and a marble stepped pedestal topped by a column with an urn. This column faces west, whereas the other monuments in the cemetery face east.

It was the 100th year anniversary of the death of Eric Cheney (1897-1918), who was a young Moorilda  man who died in WW1 in Amman, Jordan. Eric was a young farmer, having left Bathurst High School a couple of years earlier. He lived and worked with his father George Alfred Cheney.

Then for Eric, the final push towards Amman, Jordan came, and along with it a dramatic change in weather and terrain. Moving from the dust and heat into unrelenting rain and cold, made the next challenge seemingly impossible. The 4th Battalion, including Eric and his mate Dave Jones, also a Moorilda lad, alongside their much loved camels, proceeded to climb out of the Jordan valley.

From the River Jordan, just north of the dead sea, the men and camels scaled an astounding 4000 feet up the side of the mountains of Moab. In a testament to human endurance and perseverance, with camels slipping and sliding everywhere, many hundreds of men and their camels finally made it to the top of the plateau. The days it took to complete this ascent left the men totally depleted, but still they carried on.

It was here on Good Friday 30th  March 1918, that Eric Cheney lost his life for our country. Not long after a memorial was erected by his mates and still stands today in the yard of St Andrews Church, Moorilda.
Blayney Chronicle, 9th May 2018. 

Location

Address:890 Moorilda Road, Former Anglican Church Cemetery, Moorilda, 2795
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -33.608902
Long: 149.338717
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Military
Actual Event Start Date:30-March-1918
Actual Event End Date:30-March-1918
Designer:Dave Reed (Mason)

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:Circa 1918
Front Inscription

Erected to the memory of Corporal Eric Cheney

Killed in action at Amman Palestine
30th March 1918

A loving tribute by his friends,

At rest ! his duty done 
Mid clash of arms and dauntless strife
His laurels won.
 

Source: SKP, MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au