STURGEON, William
| Service Number: | 2912 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 July 1915, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 56th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Curragh Camp, County Kildare, Ireland, 7 August 1875 |
| Home Town: | Balmain, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Guildford School, Ireland and Leighoniel College, Belfast, Ireland. |
| Occupation: | Labourer / Boilermakers Assistant |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 20 July 1916, aged 40 years |
| Cemetery: |
Anzac Cemetery, Sailly-sur-la-Lys Plot II. Row J. Grave 7. Inscription: A SOLDIER LIVED A SOLDIER DIED AND LIES IN A SOLDIER'S GRAVE |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Sydney Scots Church Great War Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2912, Depot Battalion (AIF), Liverpool, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2912, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2912, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney | |
| 16 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 56th Infantry Battalion, T.O.S. from 4th Infantry Battalion | |
| 19 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2912, 56th Infantry Battalion, Embarked Alexandria for B.E.F per H.M.T. "Huntsend" | |
| 29 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2912, 56th Infantry Battalion, Disembarked Marseilles, France | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2912, 56th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2912, 56th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), Killed In Action | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2912, 56th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2912 awm_unit: 56th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by VWM Australia
Private William Sturgeon had previously served for 15 years and 75 days with 54th Company, Royal Garrison Artillery, British Army. During that period, he served in the South African War, King's Medal 2 clasps and Queen's Medal with 3 clasps, and he also served for 12 years on the Indian Frontier.
He was Killed In Action at Fromelles July 1916 after a lifetime of service.
Lest We Forget.
Biography contributed by John Oakes
William STURGEON (Service Number 2912) was born on 7th August 1875 at Kildare, Ireland. He was a boilermakers’ helper at Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops from 13th November 1912, at first casual but permanent from 28th June 1914. He was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces on 29th June 1915 and enlisted at Liverpool on 5th July. He gave as his next of kin his wife Mary, living in Balmain. He had more military experience than almost any of the railway recruits, with 15 years with the Royal Garrison Artillery in England.
He was allotted to the 9th Reinforcements to the 4th Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Argyllshire’ at Sydney on 30th September 1915. He joined the 4th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir (Egypt) on 6th January 1916. In February he was transferred to the 54th Battalion. After further training he embarked ‘Huntsend’ at Alexandria on 19th June1917 for passage to join the British Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front in France, passing through Marseilles on 29th June.
He was killed in action in France on 20th July 1916 – the Battle of Fromelles – and buried in Anzac Cemetery, Sailly-sur-la-Lys, 2¼ miles NE of Estaires, five miles SW of Armentières, the Rev W M Holliday officiating.
Cpl. W.A. McIntyre (2871) reported:
‘He was killed at Fromelles on July 19th by a shell. I saw parts of his body.’
Pte. J. Rogers (2997) knew that:
‘He was killed at Fleurbaix on July 19th. I saw his dead body in a bay of the frontline trench. He had only just come into the trench when he was killed outright by a shell, which smashed him up very badly.’
Another Pte. J Rogers (979) wrote that:
‘I knew Bill Sturgeon. We made an attack at Fromelles and he had half his head blown away by a shell in the trenches. I and others helped to carry him down on a stretcher and he was buried with all the others in the Military Cemetery behind the line.’
A pension of £2 per fortnight was awarded to Sturgeon’s widow, Mary, from 14th October 1916.
Mary Sturgeon had died by February 1923 and representations were made by her niece and legatee for the issue of the, as-yet-undelivered, Memorial Plaque to her, as she had been left her uncle’s other medals. The records show the item as issued to the widow or perhaps, by the time of its manufacture, her estate and then to her niece.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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