Timothy Tovell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Timothy Tovell From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Timothy 'Tim' William Tovell (1878 - August 1966) was an Australian airman in World War I who with the help of his brother Edward 'Ed' Tovell, smuggled a young French orphan out of France and to Australia. Tovell was born in England and was apprenticed to a builder in 1898. He then became a cabinet maker and did much work for the London gentry. He was married in 1911 to Gertrude and they then emigrated to Australia to help him recover from a 'bad chest'. The couple moved to Jandowae near Dalby in Queensland. In 1916 both Tim and his brother, Ed, enlisted in the Australian Flying Corps. They were posted to Belgium and after the war to Bickendorf, Germany as part of the occupying force. Henri Hermene - the French Orphan On Christmas Day 1918 a small orphan came begging for food from the Australians at Bickendorf. The orphan whose name was probably Honore Hemene (later known as Henri Hermene and other variations) took a liking to Tim and Tim took a liking to Henri. The orphan knew neither his age nor where he came from, other than his father was killed in the first week of the war and his mother shortly after when the Germans shelled his house, leading to the death of his mother and sister. The boy was rescued by an officer of the British artillery who looked after Henri until the officer too was killed, and Henri wounded. Henri was treated in a military hospital and eventually discharged where he found his way back to the front lines and again attached himself to a British unit. This unit eventually ended up at Bickendorf and Henri met the Tovell brothers. The Australian doctor who saw Henri estimated his age at nine. The Australian squadron adopted Henri as their 'mascot', and fed and clothed him. He was given a uniform and made an acting corporal. He was known by the airmen as Little Digger. In 1919, Tim Tovell discovered that his own son, Timmy, had died from influenza in Australia and he decided to 'adopt' Henri and take him back to Dalby. Tim, with the assistance of his brother, smuggled Henri out of France to England (in an oat sack) and then from England to Australia. The smuggling required considerable foresight and help from both Australian officers and men. To land Henri in Australia required permits and the Queensland premier, Tom Ryan, who was travelling back to Australia on the same troop ship heard about the effort that the airmen and Tovell brothers had gone to to get him on board the ship, and arranged landing papers for Henri. The Australian press got hold of the story of the French orphan boy and on landing Henri was mobbed by well-wishers and the curious. One woman offered Tim Tovell £1,500 to let her look after Henri, as she had lost her son in the war. The Tovell brothers refused and took Henri to Dalby, where he went to school. Henri attempted to become an Australian citizen but the French Embassy would not support him doing so until he was 21, and as he could not prove his age had great difficulty in enlisting in the Australian airforce as he had wished. In 1928 Henri was killed in a motorcycle accident in Melbourne. After Henri After being demobbed (discharged from the military) in 1919 Tim became a builder and lived in Brisbane until his death in 1966 at the age of eighty-eight. He was survived by his two children, Edward and Nancy, as well as his wife Gertrude (who died at age 94).
For some reason that sent shivers up my spine, especially the boys death. Nice one jeff. Cheers, Adam.
Christmas 1918, estimated age 9, parents apparently killed in Aug-Sept 1914. He was very likely 4 or 5 years old when orphaned. I cannot imagine that happening to my children. No parents, around a number of soldiers who do not speak his language. It had to be terrifying for him. Think about how many orphaned children were not as "fortunate" as young Henri, being mistreated by invading armies or their own countrymen, in the case of the Jews.
Page with more information before leaving the continent: Sands of Gallipoli Stories Another version with pics and detailed info on the oceanic journey: The Boy in the Bag
Sad fact of today, is imagine the fuss if same thing happened, the blokes would be accused of being, you-know-whats. Lovely story with a sad end. Or maybe not, after a crap start to life , at least he died having some fun on a motorbike.
This is a lovely story. But a pity about the ending. It's by no means the only story of this type. Then there's the related story of Horrie the Wog Dog. Here's a quote from Wiki: Horrie was befriended as a puppy by Australian soldier, Private Jim Moody, when he was stationed in the Ikingi Mariut area of Egyptin 1941. The dog became the unofficial mascot of the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion, travelling with it throughout Egypt, Greece, Crete, Palestine and Syria then to Australia in 1942. Horrie is described by his owner as having been intelligent, and easily trained. He acted as a guard dog, giving early warning of enemy aircraft. He survived the sinking of the troop carrier, the Costa Rica, while being evacuated from Greece. He was also wounded by a bomb splinter in Crete. In 1942, Moody was repatriated home to Australia, but, due to stringent quarantine laws, was unable to take the dog with him. Moody decided to smuggle the dog home in a canvas bag, which was reinforced with wooden slats so that the dog could breathe. In 1945, the law caught up with Moody who was ordered by Quarantine officials to surrender Horrie to be put down. Instead, Moody substituted another dog from the pound, which was shot in place of Horrie. Horrie lived out his natural life near Corryong, in rural Victoria.
Christmas 1918, estimated age 9, parents apparently killed in Aug-Sept 1914. He was very likely 4 or 5 years old when orphaned. I cannot imagine that happening to my children. No parents, around a number of soldiers who do not speak his language. It had to be terrifying for him. Think about how many orphaned children were not as "fortunate" as young Henri, being mistreated by invading armies or their own countrymen, in the case of the Jews. A sad fact of the world we live in today unfortunately it still happens ........I did some work in a Asylum in a small town called Prizren, Kosovo and the stories of what was happening there, the conditions and the poor kids will stay with me until the day I die. What made me the most angry was the fact that the people (locals) down the road were just going about their buisness with out a care in the world, oblivious to what was happening to those children........But they must have know. Bastards... That was my first real appreciation of how horrible mankind can be.
This is a lovely story. But a pity about the ending. It's by no means the only story of this type. Then there's the related story of Horrie the Wog Dog. Here's a quote from Wiki: Horrie was befriended as a puppy by Australian soldier, Private Jim Moody, when he was stationed in the Ikingi Mariut area of Egyptin 1941. The dog became the unofficial mascot of the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion, travelling with it throughout Egypt, Greece, Crete, Palestine and Syria then to Australia in 1942. Horrie is described by his owner as having been intelligent, and easily trained. He acted as a guard dog, giving early warning of enemy aircraft. He survived the sinking of the troop carrier, the Costa Rica, while being evacuated from Greece. He was also wounded by a bomb splinter in Crete. In 1942, Moody was repatriated home to Australia, but, due to stringent quarantine laws, was unable to take the dog with him. Moody decided to smuggle the dog home in a canvas bag, which was reinforced with wooden slats so that the dog could breathe. In 1945, the law caught up with Moody who was ordered by Quarantine officials to surrender Horrie to be put down. Instead, Moody substituted another dog from the pound, which was shot in place of Horrie. Horrie lived out his natural life near Corryong, in rural Victoria. Nice one..... As ever I love to read these stories
A sad fact of the world we live in today unfortunately it still happens ........I did some work in a Asylum in a small town called Prizren, Kosovo and the stories of what was happening there, the conditions and the poor kids will stay with me until the day I die. What made me the most angry was the fact that the people (locals) down the road were just going about their buisness with out a care in the world, oblivious to what was happening to those children........But they must have know. Bastards... That was my first real appreciation of how horrible mankind can be. I really do understand your sentiments. Life can be very tragic for some people in Asia as well as in Kosovo. But it has to be put in perspective. As usual it boils down to money. Here in Thailand, it sometimes happens that parents push a child out of the house because they can't afford to maintain him. But this is a country - like the others around here, where there are almost no social services. Salaries here are very low and the recent huge rise in rice prices is making life intolerable for many. It's not so much that people don't care. It's that they can't do anything about it.
I totally appreciate where you are coming from and I can only begin to imagine how hard it must be for some people around the world. Maybe if I made it a bit clearer you would see where I was coming from. The children were being sexually, mentally and physically abused my the adult patients. The locals in the town were going about there everyday buisness buying food etc. and were ignoring what was happening in this evil place. It made me think of the Germans that lived down the road from the concentration camps that pleaded ignorance to what was going on.
Ah! Now I see where you are coming from. Abuse of anyone in any form cannot be tolerated of course. The trouble is that this is common in all countries at all times. Can you suggest a solution? Interest is also somewhat selective when it happens. For example there's a huge fuss being made - and rightly so - over child pornography. Yet no-one cares about the abuse of adults who feature in adult pornography - because that's legal. Turning a blind eye is a common human strategy. Often it's done because there is nothing one can do. Not because people don't care. A thorny subject!
Jeff; Those stories had me in laughter and tears! Fascinating too how differently the exact same tale can be related by the different writers. Little details added, or left out, or expanded on. Great reads. Herakles; Your story of Horrie ..... I barely even dared read it. 'Sorry', but I'd be the bloke stood outside of a shelter, ushering his Dogs safely inside, then wandering off to find the missing one. My Dogs are my family.
