35 Sergeant Eryx Gabriel Incledon – Omeo Killed in Action 19 July 1916

….. his nephew carries his name

Eryx Incledon is one of the men still missing from the Fromelle battle. He was the son of one of the schoolmasters at Omeo and went to school at Omeo. He was born in Geelong in 1893 to William and Kathleen (nee Kennedy) and was the grandson of one of the Eureka Stockade miners. His mother died in 1896 and he was raised by his older sister Vera. Eryx was a saddler and proficient at signalling when he enlisted having served three years in the Citizen Military Unit. He enlisted on 18 August 1914, when he was 31 years old, and as such was amongst the first to sign up. On 19 October 1914 he left Australia on the Benalla and from Alexandria fought at Gallipoli. He was wounded in action with a gunshot wound to the back on 5 May and transferred to the hospital ship. He returned to his unit and was promoted to Sergeant on 15 August 1915. With the general evacuation of Gallipoli he was once again back in Alexandria before being transferred to the 60 th  Battalion on 24 February 1916. At Ferry Post on 30 May he was reprimanded for having a light burning in his tent after “lights out”, the only blemish on his record. On the 18 June he left Alexandria with the British Expeditionary Force and disembarked in Marseilles on 29 June. By the end of the next month he was reported missing. It was not until over twelve months later a court of enquiry pronounced his fate as killed in action on 19 July 1916. He was obviously remembered by old Omeo school mates when one of them wrote to the local paper in 1917 pointing out that his name had been left off the Honour Roll. He is remembered at VC Corner and also with tree no. 78 in the Ballarat Avenue of Honour being planted in his name. We have been unable to locate a photograph of Sergeant Eryx Incledon, if you know of one, please make contact. Our group would appreciate your assistance.