01/07/2026
A humble WW1 pair, as found with ribbons on the incorrect medals.
Bruce Buckley, a WWI veteran from Parramatta, was the great-great-grandson of James and Mary Buckley, two English convicts who were among the early settlers of Parramatta.
James Buckley, a Lancashire weaver, was sentenced to seven years' transportation for stealing calico in 1817. His wife, Mary Hitchen, was convicted shortly after for larceny—stealing to feed their children while James awaited transport. She was also sentenced to seven years. They arrived in Sydney separately in 1818 on the ships Morley and Maria, but remarkably, they were reunited in Parramatta. James was assigned as a servant to Superintendent Rouse, while Mary was sent to the infamous Parramatta Female Factory. Despite the harsh conditions, they lived as a family.
After receiving their Pardon’s (Certificate of Freedom) in 1826, James was granted a block of land on Argyle Street, Parramatta, in 1823—a prime location in the heart of the town. They built a life there, and their daughter Ann Sarah was the first child born to the couple in Australia. James died in 1836, and Mary in 1855. Both are buried at St. John's Cemetery, Parramatta, where their graves still stand.
The family never left the area. Bruce's father, Francis Buckley, was born in Ryde in 1868. Francis married Diana Walker in Parramatta, and together they raised Bruce at 27 Smith Street, Parramatta, where Bruce was born in 1897.
When the Great War broke out, Bruce enlisted on 4 February 1917, aged 20. He was assigned to the 1st Pioneer Battalion. He departed Sydney on 16 June 1917. He served on the Western Front until the war's end. He returned to Australia on 4 July 1919.
Bruce married Florence Lydia May Ealding in Parramatta, had a daughter named Elaine, and lived out his life in the same district his convict ancestors had helped establish. He died in 1970, aged 73.
