Next of kin: Frances Stibbard (mother), Cadia, via Orange
Date of enlistment: 24 February 1916
Place of enlistment: Orange
Age at enlistment: 20
Fate: Embarked SS "Barambah" Sydney 23 June 1916. Disembarked Plymouth 25 August 1916. Appointed Lance Corporal 7 February 1917. Appointed Temporary Colonel 27 May 1917. Killed in action, Messines, Belgium.
Date of death: 7 June 1917
Buried: Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Belgium, Plot I, Row F, Grave No. 23
Bert Stibbard was a labourer from Cadia who enlisted in Orange in February 1916.He arrived in England in August the same year and proceeded to France as a private in the 34th Battalion.In February 1917 he was appointed Lance Corporal.
According to an eyewitness report Stibbard was killed by a shell explosion whilst sleeping in a bay in the trenches at Ploegsteert, Belgium on the morning of 7 June 1917. He was 22.
Bertie Stibbard is commemorated on the Holy Trinity Church Orange Honour Roll and on the World War I Roll of Honour on the southern face of the Orange Cenotaph.
In 1923 the Anzac Memorial Avenue of trees was planted along Bathurst Road to commemorate fallen WWI soldiers. A tree was planted in honour of "Cpl Bert Stibbard"; it was donated by his mother, Frances. Very few of the trees are still standing today.
