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Lyall Pidcock - Information

In the late 1800s, the Pidcock family lived in Ingleburn where Lyall was born in 1895. The family then relocated to Cresant on Crown St in Queenscliffe near Manly. Lyall served 2 years in the Senior Cadets and 2 years with the 17th Infantry Militia, while working as a grocer. As the war raged on, Lyall and his older brother, Harold, decided to enlist in the AIF. They signed up on the 7th of August 1916 at the Royal Showground Camp. Lyall and Harold trained at Cootamundra, where they were assigned to the 1st Pioneer Battalion in October. They then boarded the HMAT Benalla in Sydney, which set off on the 9th of November 1916.

Lyall and Harold set down in Devonport, England on the 9th of January 1917. They trained at the Pioneer Battalion in Fovant and with the Engineer Details in Brightlingsea. In early September, Lyall was transported to the Western Front in France. The following month, he was taken on strength to the 9th Field Company Engineers as a Sapper. He went to work at the front, constructing roads, waterways, billets, building trenches and any other vital works. When the war ended, Lyall overstayed his leave joining in on the celebrations. In March 1919, he was detached to the 11th Field Company Engineers. The following month, he was transported back to England, and was taken on strength to AIF Headquarters in London. He was then granted leave, before returning to Australia onboard the HMAT Anchises on the 22nd of August 1919. By the 1930s, Lyall had moved to Beachville on Gore St in Harbord, NSW.