Photo Gallery
Ivan Walker DRANE
| Rank | Reg/Ser No | DOB | Enlisted | Discharge/Death | Board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pte | 5322 | 26 Nov 1888 27y2m | 31 Jan 1916 | 20 Sep 1917 KA | 6 |
Ivan Walker Drane (1888 - 1917)
Drane Family of Drane Street, Clayfield
The three Drane brothers who enlisted to serve in the Australian Imperial Force during World War 1 were sons of Priscilla (née Griffith) and John William Constantine Drane who lived at Mundumburrah in Drane Street, Clayfield. Their mother was Mrs Priscilla Drane (known as Prissie), daughter of the Revd Edward Griffith and sister of Sir Samuel Griffith. She died in 1900 at the early age of 40 years leaving her husband John and their five sons, the eldest then 16 years old and the youngest only three.
Their father John William Constantine Drane was an Accountant in the Education Department. He died in 1928.
Of the five sons, two did not go to the war. The eldest, William Griffith Drane was born in 1884, became a Staff Surveyor and died as a result of a poisoned leg at Roma Hospital in August 1919; and at the same time, another brother, Edward Dudley Drane, an Accountant, died in Brisbane. The stories of the three soldier sons are recorded on this website. Their names are on the honour board from the Wharf Street Congregational Church where their grandfather was Minister from 1860 till 1889.
Private Ivan Walker Drane
Ivan Walker Drane was born at Drane Street, Clayfield, Brisbane on 26 November 1888, the third son of John William Constantine and Priscilla Drane. His mother died when he was only 11 years old. He attended Brisbane Grammar School in 1904 and later the Central Technical College where he gained qualification in wool classing. He left home to work at Carrer woolshed at Richmond in North Queensland.
Enlistment
On 31 January 1916 Ivan Drane enlisted to serve overseas in the Australian Imperial Force during World War 1. Given service number 5322, and allotted to reinforcements for 25th Battalion, Private Drane embarked from Brisbane on board HMAT Itonus A50 on 8 August 1916. The ship arrived at Plymouth, England on 18 October and the troops camped at Folkstone for training in preparation for active service on the Western Front.
Service in France and Belgium
They crossed to Étaples, France where they joined their unit in mid-December 1916. At this time, the 25th Australian Infantry Battalion acted in a supportive role in the Second Battle of Bullecourt, a scene of mud and fog. Sick with trench fever, Private Drane spent time in hospital and the Number 11 Convalescent Depot at Buchy, France from June till August 1917. He rejoined his battalion as it moved north to take an important part in the 2nd Division’s first wave at the Battle of Menin Road in Belgium.
The ultimate sacrifice at Menin Road
For the 25th Battalion, it was a victory but it cost the lives of many, including Ivan Walker Drane.
Ivan was killed on 20 September 1917 and buried at Westhoek Ridge near Ypres, a small cemetery containing the graves of 16 soldiers from Australia and six from the United Kingdom.
After the Armistice the graves from Westhoek and other small cemeteries were brought in to Hooge Crater Cemetery where 5916 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War are commemorated. This cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
The grave of I W Drane, 25th Battalion, AIF is shown in the Photo Gallery. At the foot of the tombstone are these words:
“Loyal unto death”
and the message of remembrance from Saint Andrew's Brisbane, placed there by Noel Adsett on 29 June 2015 is also shown in the photograph.
Compiled by Noel E. Adsett, Brisbane, October 2015 ©
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