DOUGALL, William Sanders
| Service Number: | 7978 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 July 1915, Transferred to 18 Coy AASC 16 Oct 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 18th Australian Army Service Corps |
| Born: | Glendonald, between Creswick north and Clunes, Victoria, Australia, July 1880 |
| Home Town: | Ascot, City of Balllarat (LGA), Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer and grazier |
| Died: | Creswick, Vic., 1936, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Coghill's Creek Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Tourello Walnut Grove Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jul 1915: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Driver, 7978, 18th Australian Army Service Corps, Transferred to 18 Coy AASC 16 Oct 1915 | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 7978, 8th Infantry Brigade Train | |
| 8 Nov 1915: | Embarked Driver, 7978, 8th Infantry Brigade Train, HMAT Bakara, Melbourne | |
| 8 Nov 1915: | Embarked Australian Army (Post WW2), Driver, 7978, 18th Australian Army Service Corps, HMAT A41 Bakara. To Egypt. | |
| 16 Jun 1916: | Embarked Australian Army (Post WW2), Driver, 7978, 18th Australian Army Service Corps, HT Tunisian, Alexandria, Egypt to Marseilles, France | |
| 17 Jan 1919: | Embarked Australian Army (Post WW2), Driver, 7978, 18th Australian Army Service Corps, To England for Return to Australia | |
| 21 Mar 1919: | Embarked Australian Army (Post WW2), Driver, 7978, 18th Australian Army Service Corps, HT Kildonian Castle, Devonport, England, for Return to Australia | |
| 26 Jun 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 7978, 5th Divisional Train | |
| 29 Jun 1919: | Discharged Australian Army (Post WW2), Driver, 7978, 18th Australian Army Service Corps, Termination of Period of Enlistment |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Ballarat Ranger Military Museum
Dvr William Saunders DOUGALL
“At the outbreak of war in 1914, Will was a ‘farmer and grazier’ at Ascot. 35 years old and still single, Will enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on 12 July, 1915 in Ballarat,” Mrs Woods said.
Selected as an 18 Company driver, he served in Egypt with 50 men from Ballarat and Creswick.
“Arriving off Suez on 8 December, the men finally disembarked on 12 December, 1915. It was here that the men learnt their jobs as army drivers, farriers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, harness makers, saddlers and soldiers,” she said.
“Will’s war started badly. After four weeks in Egypt, he fell ill with gastritis and a further six weeks later, was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection.”
He re-joined 18 Company in March before travelling to Marseille, France in June on the troopship Tunisian.
“Will was one of the fortunate ones,” Mrs Woods said. “His service record, available through National Archives Australia, showed from arrival in France in 1916 until leaving France in early 1919, he did not get sick again.
“He arrived in England in mid-January, 1919 as one of those men who had enlisted in 1915 and were to return home from the war.”
Back in Melbourne by 7 May, 1919, he received his ‘Termination of Period of Enlistment’ on 29 June.
“Will” married Annie Somers Coutts in 1923 and died thirteen years later. He is buried in Coghill’s Creek.
The Ballarat Ranger Military Museum is open Thursdays, 1pm to 4pm or by appointment on 0400 573 802.
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