CLIFFORD, William David
| Service Number: | 894 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kangaroo Flat, Victoria, Australia, April 1892 |
| Home Town: | Kangaroo Flat, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Shoeing smith |
| Memorials: | Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 894, 7th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 894, 7th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 894, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 5 Apr 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Driver, 7th Infantry Battalion | |
| 29 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Driver, 894, 7th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 31 Jan 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 894, 7th Infantry Battalion, Embarked from Taranto, Italy for Australia (Special 1914 Leave). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Larna Malone
William David Clifford was born in Kangaroo Flat, the son of Benjamin & Mary Clifford. He was a Shoeing-Smith, aged 22 years & 4 months, with no previous military experience, when he volunteered for service in the Expeditionary Force. He Enlisted on 21/8/14 and arrived at Broadmeadows Camp on 24/8/14. He was allotted Service no. 894 and appointed to ‘H’ Company, 7th Battalion.
Prior to embarkation he was Presented with a wristlet watch from the members of the Kangaroo Flat Federal Brass Band.
The 7th Battalion left Broadmeadows Camp on 18 October, 1914, and embarked for service overseas on board HMAT ‘Hororata’. Arriving in Egypt the battalion moved into camp at Mena, at the foot of the pyramids. (6/12/14)
In January, 1915, the Australian force was re-organized. In the 7th Battalion ‘G’ and ‘H’ Companies joined to form the new ‘D’ Company. This meant that all the men from Northern Victoria were together in one Company.
The 7th Battalion was part of the force which landed at Anzac Cove on 25th April, 1915. Before the battalion left Egypt William David Clifford was attached to the Transport section. The 7th Battalion Transport Details and the Machine Gun section horses embarked on S.S. Novian. The terrain of Anzac Cove was unsuitable for horses, so the 7th Battalion Transport Details did not disembark and were still on board the Novian when she returned to Egypt (14/5/15). The Transport section spent the next months in a frustrating separation from the remainder of the battalion, although William David Clifford was a member of a small part of the Transport section which arrived at Anzac on 29th November, 1915, just before the evacuation in December.
The 7th Battalion was withdrawn on the night of December 19th. They embarked for Lemnos and then disembarked in Egypt on 6th January 1916.
William David Clifford was Promoted Company Driver (16/1/16) and on 1/2/16 rejoined the battalion from the Transport section. He went on to serve on the Western Front. He RTA on 8/10/18. Special 1914 Leave.
“The First Lot. 7th Battalion. The first men of the Bendigo district to volunteer for service in the First World War.”: Larna Malone