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Jean Beryl EBBECK (29/7/1936-24/11/2021) Wayne Linnert, President advised: It is with sadness that I advise the passing of Jean. Her Husband Warren Ebbeck, is an esteemed Life Member.
Jean worked in Head Office for approximately 10 years.
Jean and Warren married on Christmas Eve 1960 but held their advice from the Bank as Jean kept on working until the first of their three daughters came along.
A private cremation has taken place. Our sincere sympathy is extended to Warren’s family at this time. I thank Sam Clough OAM for his notification
John EDWARDS (8/2005): Passed away in August. John did not join our Group, but was well-known from his time at Head Office. He was an economist, lived at Ashfield, and spent some time at Macquarie Bank. John was single and very interested in cricket. He was active in the Ashfield Catholic Club. David Cowper spoke of John at the September 2005 meeting - he was in the Chief Accountant's department, a hard worker on whom one could rely for difficult assignments, very social.
John Armstrong ENGLAND This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 17, (MUP), 2007 by Paul A. Rosenzweig John Armstrong England (1911-1985), farmer and grazier, politician, and administrator of the Northern Territory, was born on 12 October 1911 at Clayfield, Brisbane, third of five children of New South Wales-born parents Sidney Willis England, accountant, and his wife Jane McLelland, née Fisher. Raised at Murwillumbah, New South Wales, John was educated at the local public school and at Brisbane Boys’ College. He worked (1928-35) for the Commercial Banking Co. of Australia Ltd, in Sydney and at Forbes. In 1936-41 he managed Wilga, a sheep and wheat farm near Grenfell. On 16 December 1939 at Holy Trinity Church of England, Grenfell, he married Polly Wills Wheatley. From 1929 England was also a citizen-soldier, serving in Militia artillery and cavalry units and being commissioned in 1931. Called up for full-time duty on 23 June 1941, next year he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and placed in command of the 110th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. In August he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force. He commanded two composite anti-aircraft regiments: the 52nd (1943-45) at Merauke, Netherlands New Guinea, and the 2/3rd (1945-46) in north Borneo. As commander of North East Borneo Force in October 1945, he oversaw the surrender of Japanese in the region. He was transferred to the Reserve of Officers on 28 February 1946 and mentioned in despatches for his service in Borneo. England returned to Wilga, and bought it in 1947. At a by-election in November 1960 he entered Federal parliament as the Country Party member for the formerly Liberal seat of Calare. Party whip in 1972-75, he did not contest the general election in December 1975. On 1 June 1976 he took up the appointment of administrator of the Northern Territory. Darwin was then recovering from the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Tracy in December 1974, and the Territory was pursuing political autonomy from Canberra. He assumed presidency of the Legislative Assembly, a fully elected body from 1974, and oversaw ceremonies marking the proclamation of self-government on 1 July 1978. Respected by local politicians, and using his contacts among Commonwealth ministers and senior public servants, he alleviated Darwin-Canberra tensions from behind the scenes. However, some, including the chief minister, Paul Everingham, saw him as a legacy of the Commonwealth era at a time when the Northern Territory was asserting its independence. In 1977 he was appointed commander brother of the Order of St John and made inaugural patron of the St John Council for the Northern Territory. Appointed CMG in 1979, England retired in December 1980 and settled at Grenfell. Six ft 4 ins (193 cm) tall, he was naturally diplomatic and had a good sense of humour. He was remembered in the Territory for maintaining the dignity of his office. In 1981 he was elected secretary of the federal council of the National Country Party of Australia. Survived by his wife and their daughter and three sons, he died on 18 June 1985 at Grenfell and was cremated. At his funeral he was described as `a man of integrity … upright and forthright; who no doubt used his physical stature to good advantage. Yet he was humble of character and regarded duty as a privilege’.
May 2017 John Beer advised:
As Manager CBC Darwin I had met him in the Bank.
I was Treasurer of Arafura Bowls & Social Club Darwin which rebuilt collapsed club house which in 1977 John England
officially reopened the new building whilst I was Treasurer and I met with him on that occasion.
Richard EYLES (30/7/2023) President Margaret Powell advised: I have received phone calls this week from Greg McCosker and Bob Poynting to advise the passing of Richard Eyles.
Richard lived in Sydney and was recently visiting his brother Peter in Coolum NSW and had also called in to catch up with Greg at Wagga Wagga and had a coffee with him.He was travelling back to Sydney on 19th July when he was involved in a collision with a semi trailer. He was transferred to Canberra Base Hospital in a critical
condition and passed away last Sunday 30th July.
Richard was a member of the CBC Officers Club, however, was an unfinancial member.
We also don’t have any details on the Database about him or his service in the CBC.
I have contacted Brian Hicks, who is a member and who was also a good friend of Greg, Bob and Richard.
He has given me some information, but we don’t have much to go on, other than his birthday and day of passing.
Richard was married ( 2nd time around) for eight years. Richard’s brother Peter has tried to contact his wife ( Vicky) unsuccessfully.
Bob Poynting contacted me again today to say that the ACT Coroner has not released the body and there is no news of a funeral.
I first met Dick Eyles through our mutual friend Brian Hicks, around 1973, through our common employment with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, the CBC Bank. Brian is attending the Sydney service today but he has provided some of his memories of our mate here today. Of course, Richard’s brother Peter was also with the Bank and I thank you Peter for the honour of saying a few words today. Dick’s and my career to a degree mirrored each other’s in that we had both joined at country branches, he at Narrandera and me at Goondiwindi on the Queensland border. We moved from branch to branch around New South Wales and we eventually made our way to the big smoke of Sydney and on to the Bank’s relieving staff. Like me he was a boy from the bush, he loved the bush. He was a man of the land and I was a cattleman’s son, but because of drought times I joined the CBC Bank and the future was defined to meet a good mate by the name of Dick Eyles. The relieving staff saw us travel to all points throughout the state and into Queensland and it was during our years in that role that we formed a long and lasting friendship. I have many memories of these good times as people who were part of the Bank’s relief staff were also part of a really close knit fraternity, we spent a lot of time on the road travelling from place to place, and staying in towns for weeks at a time, sometimes not returning to Sydney for two to three months. And so, we developed a really close friendship when we did get together. Dick chose to leave the Bank to pursue other interests around 1983 after the CBC merged with the National Bank to become the NAB. One of those interests was to own and run a café here in Wagga. I think my greatest memory of Dick and some of his finest attributes were those of his loyalty and trust in you as a friend and his generosity to anyone who needed a hand. He always made time to keep in contact with his old friends, if we didn’t hear from him at least two-three times a year just for a catch up then something was amiss. His favourite topic at these times were his boys and his grandchildren, what they were up to, where they were and he never tired of the subject. He was among the ultimate of car enthusiasts, in particular high performance car racing such as the Bathurst 500 (now it’s the Bathurst 1000). Indeed, if you were one of his really trusted friends you might get to drive the big red GT Falcon which he owned and absolutely adored. I did get to drive that immaculate beast, but only once, as did Brian. Dick had been suspended from driving for some reason (we assume speeding, but he never owned up) and he asked Brian if he would drive him to Bathurst to watch the 500. Brian remembers Dick was super happy to get to Bathurst but would probably prefer to have been in the driver’s seat. It was only a couple of days before Dick’s tragic accident that he made the road trip to Wagga, Albury, Coolamon, and Cootamundra to visit his sons, Scott and Simon, brothers Peter and Robert and his sister Janine, as well as some of his old friends who live down this way, which included a visit to my wife Sandra and I at our home in Bourkelands. We had a wonderful couple of hours simply chatting over old times and the time together was too quickly gone. When we said goodbye that day we had no idea it would be the last time we would see him. Brian and I remember his wonderful greeting when we got together and which we will never forget: “How ya goin, Mate”.
Vale, Richard. We will miss you.
Last modified: 16 December 2023 10:35 AM
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