John Hutton Bisdee, (28 September 1869 – 14 January 1930) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Early life and family

Bisdee was born on 28 September 1869 at Hutton Park, Melton Mowbray, Tasmania. He was educated at The Hutchins School in Hobart. Bisdee Hale

In 1904 he married Georgiana Thodosia Hale who was the daughter of Bishop Matthew Blagden Hale.

Military service

When Bisdee was 30 years old, and a trooper with the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen during the Second Boer War, the following deeds took place for which he was awarded the VC. :On 1 September 1900 near Warm Bad, Transvaal, South Africa, Trooper Bisdee was one of an advance scouting party passing through a narrow gorge, when the enemy suddenly opened fire at close range and six out of the party of eight were wounded, including two officers. The horse of one of the wounded officers bolted and Trooper Bisdee dismounted, put the officer on his own horse and took him out of range of the very heavy fire. Bisdee returned to Tasmania in 1902, and received the Victoria Cross from the Governor during a review in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

on 11 August 1902 to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. He later served as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the First World War, where he was awarded an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE), as well as being

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

Later life

He died on 14 January 1930 and was buried in the St James Churchyard, Jericho, Tasmania. His Victoria Cross is on display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery,

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * L. A. Simpson
'Bisdee, John Hutton (1869–1930)'

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 7, Melbourne University Press, 1979, pp 298–299. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bisdee, John Hutton 1869 births 1930 deaths Australian Army officers Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Tasmania Military personnel from Tasmania Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross Australian military personnel of World War I