Noel Biden
‘Captain Biden was buried at 3pm of the day he died. Practically the whole of the 3rd Company turned out voluntarily and marched the three miles to Portianos Cemetery, where he was buried with full military honours, his own men supplying the trumpeter, firing party and pall bearers.’
– Lieutenant D.A. Mackay, The Riverine Grazier, 3 Mar. 1916
Born in Armidale in December 1892, Noel Biden was raised in New South Wales and was an exceptional student at Sydney High School, passing the senior public examination with high distinction. Set on a career in the military, he also excelled at the Royal Military College Duntroon, from which he graduated in 1914.
Lieutenant Biden was appointed to the 1st Field Company of Engineers on 14 August 1914. He landed at Anzac beach on 25 April 1915. One of his important contributions at Gallipoli was leading his section in the construction of piers and landing stages on the beach, often under heavy shellfire.
Noel was promoted to captain in July and transferred to the 3rd Field Company in September. With this unit, he was evacuated to Sarpi Rest Camp on 12 November. It was here on Lemnos that he became ill with pneumonia and paratyphoid and was hospitalised in late November. The medical staff worked hard to save him, with four nurses and a doctor attending him: ‘Nothing was in spared our efforts to save him, even oxygen being freely used’. Despite their efforts, Noel died on 21 December, just days before his 23rd birthday. He was buried in Portianou Military Cemetery.
Noel was well liked by his fellow soldiers and by the medical staff who cared for him. Sister Emily Taylor recalled ‘He was such a dear boy. We all felt it very much when he died ... [He] was an excellent patient, and good as gold’. After learning the news of his death, his grieving father reflected: ‘We have lost a good son and the Department has lost a loyal and promising officer’.
