DENING, William Charles Henry
| Service Number: | 3017 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 July 1915, Keswick, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Nhill, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Horse Driver |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 28 September 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm) |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3017, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3017, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Adelaide |
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"THE LATE PRIVATE W. C. H. DENING.
Private W. C. H. Dening, who was killed in action in France on September 28, was in his 31st year. He was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. F. Dening, late of Broken Hill." - from the Adelaide Chronicle 28 Oct 1916 (nla.gov.au)
Biography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Henry was born in Nhil, Victoria in 1886. During his younger years, he had had some previous military service. His father, Mr F Dening and mother Mrs E Dening lived West Broken Hill. Henry’s schooling and length of schooling is still undiscovered but his occupation after school was as a horse driver. His next-of-kin was firstly his father and later changed to his wife, Mrs Catherine Dening.
Henry enlisted into Australian Imperial Force from Keswick on the 18th of July 1915 aged 29. On the 14 of August 1915 he was transported to Egypt for more training onboard the HMAT A70.
After only a few months of training in Mudros harbour on the Greek islands. Henry was placed into the front lines of the Western front. After a few months in battle, on the 7/2/1916 Henry was moved to the red cross hospital with an eye disease affecting his vision in battle. This disease is known as pterygium. After the first of many hospital visits, Henry re-joined the 10th Battalion and went back to the front lines for more. After returning to the war for only a few months, on the 25/4/1916 Henry was ill again, this time with rheumatism. After a much longer stint in hospital, Henry was sent back into battle. Once again shortly after, Henry was sent back into hospital with haemorrhoids. After recovering, Henry went back to the 10th Battalion n France. A few weeks later he went to Belgium and found himself in the last battle of his life. On the 28/9/1916 in Belgium Henry was killed, while the exact cause of death is unknown, according to the war diaries, one artillery battery was damaged and that caused a few casualties. He is now buried in a Railway burial ground in West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Hi wife Catherine moved from Adelaide to Wellington NZ after his death.
Throughout the duration of his time serving in the war, Henry earned a few medals. Those were the 1914-15-star, British war medal and the Victory Medal.
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