Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Life before the war:

In February 1877, William Ferguson was born in Maitland, South Australia (SA). He was born with blue eyes and a fair complexion and was of the Roman Catholic religion. He grew to be 5 feet and 9.5 inches tall and weighed 156 pounds by the time he signed up to fight in World War I for Australia. One of his distinctive features, which allowed him to be identified on the battlefields at this time, was a tattoo of initials on his right upper arm. It is unclear whose initials these were, but they were most likely his, as he wasn’t married and didn’t have any children. At the time of enlistment, he was working as a miner and was single, living with his sister, Mrs Sarah Marriett, in Parilla, SA. Sarah was also his next-of-kin when he left for war. His mining skills would have been very useful during the war, as the soldiers would need to devote large amounts of time and energy to the construction of tunnels, mines and trenches, and the physical and mental requirements of these tasks are very similar to the physical demands of being a miner. Mining was also an important part of trench warfare to counter-enemy mine, such as digging tunnels under the enemy’s line to place explosives, so William’s skills in this industry prior to the war would have been of great use to him and his unit during the war, and would have prepared him for some of the challenges ahead.

Enlistment into the service:

William enlisted to serve for the Australian Imperial Force when he was 38 and 3 months old, on the 25th of May 1915 in Keswick, SA. This was quite an old age to be going to war, as most men were aged 20-30 years old. The age limit for drafting for the war was originally 40 years old, and William would have been one of the oldest soldiers, so it can be assumed that one of the reasons he was accepted was because of his previous amount of skill in physical labouring from his job as a miner. His reason for wanting to go to war at this age could have been because he wasn’t married, didn’t have any children and may have been quite bored with his daily life. Perhaps he wanted to serve for his country to be able to do something brave and adventurous in his life. William Ferguson is identified by the service with the regimental number 2769 and the rank title “Private William Ferguson”. He was a full-time soldier, so he fought in battle and trained with his unit. William Ferguson fought with the 10th Battalion. 

Embarkation to Egypt and training:

On the 2nd of September 1915, William Ferguson along with his unit embarked from Adelaide, SA, aboard the HMAT A68 Anchises to Port Suez, Egypt for more advanced training. He had also undergone basic training for a while before he left for war, but the exact details, duration and dates of this training were not specified in his records. It can be assumed that the training consisted of first aid courses for minor injuries, cardiovascular endurance training to physically prepare the soldiers and correct use of weaponry training, as these were all necessary skills needed to survive the war. As William was enlisted in late May and embarked for Egypt in September, it can be assumed that this basic training lasted 3 months. The details and duration of his training in Egypt are also unknown, but it can be assumed that the training was completed over the course of roughly two months, as this was the duration of time he was residing in Egypt.  It can also be assumed that he completed similar training upon arrival to Egypt and joined up with the 10th Battalion when they returned to Egypt after the withdrawal from the Gallipoli campaign in late November 1915. William officially became part of the 10th Battalion (“taken on strength”) on the 27th of November 1915, and it can be supposed that he first fought with his battalion on the Western Front in March 1916. The 10th Battalion formed the 3rd Brigade along with the 9th, 11th and 12th Battalions. 

Different places of battle:

William Ferguson’s war service was predominantly on the Western Front. His battalion also fought in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey, but due to his later enlistment he didn’t fight at Gallipoli and joined his battalion later before embarking to fight on the Western Front in France.

He did, however, fight with his battalion in the Somme Valley in the Battle of Pozieres in July 1916. Two other known battles that he fought in include the Battle of Amiens in August 1918 and the German Spring Offensive from March to May 1918. However, William was often absent from some of the battles in which his unit fought in due to injuries and illnesses which he developed along his journey in WWI.

Casualties and events on the battlefields:

Over a month after he officially joined the unit, on the 31st of December 1915, William Ferguson was deducted 15 days’ pay for being absent from the training camp in Egypt for one day without notice. This could have been due to the fact that he had realised how difficult the training to prepare for war was and started to regret his decision to enlist. At this time, he was still completing some more advanced training in Egypt before setting out for the Western Front. As an older soldier, these intense trainings must have been very difficult for him, and this could explain why he wanted to skip training in the first place. After this training, he travelled with his unit to Marseilles, France in April 1916. Here, the unit underwent further training at Strazeele, a commune in Northern France before marching out to battle.

Many months later, on the 6th of June, the 10th Battalion entered the front line, the area closest to the place of conflict with the enemy’s armed forces and weaponry, on the Western Front. This was quite a significant action for the unit, but whilst very important, it was also very dangerous, and the unit saw many more casualties after this movement, including that of William Ferguson. Four days later, on the 10th of June, William was wounded in action with a severe gunshot wound in the leg in Boulogne, France whilst fighting on the Western Front. He was transferred and admitted into the 3rd London General Hospital in England on the 30th of June where he remained until the 22nd of September when he was recovered and returned to France. The fact that he was moved to England for recovery and treatment for his wounds could suggest that either he was in critical condition and needed special surgery, or that most of the general hospitals in France near the battlefield were already full with injured soldiers, which is quite likely considering the number of casualties on the Western Front at this time. He rejoined the 10th Battalion in France on the 3rd of October. 

On the 26th November 1916 he became ill and was admitted to a general hospital in France with trench foot. He remained here for 5 days until the 1st of December when he was transferred to England. Eventually, on the 17th of January 1917, William was admitted the 1st Auxiliary Hospital in London with trench foot. Trench foot is a condition of the feet caused by exposure to cold, damp and unsanitary conditions for 1-2 days, and is treated by applying heat packs or hot water. It can be assumed that the reason he was transferred to a hospital in London was because this treatment requiring heat and electricity probably wasn’t available at the soldier’s camp, so it had to be treated in hospital. We can assume that he was spending a lot of time in the trenches, and as the war dragged on, these trenches would be full of decaying corpses and bacteria as well as blood. These damp, unhygienic conditions which he was exposed to for a prolonged period of time would have caused the occurrence of this illness in many soldiers. When he was admitted to hospital, a letter was sent to his sister and next-of-kin, Mrs Sarah Marriett, informing her of his sickness and new postal address in hospital so that she was able to contact him whilst he was recovering.

On the 28th of July 1917, William Ferguson was deducted two days’ pay for the offence of drunkenness on Windmill Hill, England. It can be assumed that the cause of this drunkenness was an internal battle with himself, as he may have been unhappy at this point during the war due to his numerous recurring trips to the hospital for illnesses such as trench feet and injuries in action. The occurrence of this event could have been as result of his unhappiness and sorrow at this point in the war. William rejoined the 10th Battalion in France on 16th October, meaning he missed the worst of the fighting at Ypres.

On the 9th of February 1918, William Ferguson committed the crime of being absent from his billet without permission or Active Service Leave. The penalty for this crime in this case was being deducted pay, as this crime was against the military law. His absence could be explained due to the terrible conditions during the war and the horrific sights he witnessed during battle or possibly Shellshock or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after being at war for so long. It is unknown how he was admitted back to his billet, but he was most likely either brought back by an officer from the Australian Imperial Force forcibly, or he could have come back himself after being brought to his senses.

Over a month after this incident, on the 17th of March 1918, William Ferguson again became sick. It is unknown what this sickness was, but it was most likely either influenza, trench feet again, trench fever or typhoid fever as these were the most common illnesses in soldiers during the war. The reason these illnesses were so common in soldiers during the war was because of the horrific, unsanitary conditions causing famine, diseases and other sicknesses like fevers, parasites and infections. These were unfortunately one of the main causes of death as well in soldiers on the battlefields.

On the 13th of August 1918, William was admitted to a general hospital once again with trench feet. Due to his medical history with this disease, he became prone to developing the illness, especially if he developed foot wounds and sores from it in the past. This explains how he was constantly suffering in hospital from trench feet. At the time that he developed this illness, he had been serving with his unit in the Battle of Amiens, an Allied counter-offensive battle in Amiens, France, on the Western Front. This battle was declared an ‘all arms’ battle which allowed the use of infantry and aircrafts, making this a very deadly battle, seeing a large number of casualties. This battle commencing on the 8th of August became later known as the ‘Hundred Days Offensive’ and was said to be the battle which led to the end of WWI. This was also the last battle William Ferguson fought in before returning to Australia.

Disembarkation, discharge and life after war:

William Ferguson commenced his return to Australia on board the HT 'Sardinia' on the 19th of October 1918 and arrived in Melbourne on the 27th of December 1918, where it can be assumed that he stayed until discharge. He was discharged early, on medical grounds, on the 3rd of April 1919. Here, he went back home to SA. His postal address post-discharge was the same address as his sister, Mrs Sarah Marriett, in Parilla, SA, so it can be assumed that he was living with her. This also leads us to believe that he was possibly suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or that his injuries and illnesses still required care, and so his sister was looking after him during this difficult time in his life. William Ferguson’s war service lasted a total of 3 years and 314 days, of which 3 years and 117 days were spent abroad. From this information, it can be assumed that the remaining 197 days were either spent completing basic training before leaving for war or in the time before discharge after disembarkation, where he was recovering from his illnesses.

William received multiple medals in recognition of his service during the war. He received a 1914-15 Star Medal, which was a campaign medal of the British Empire and awarded to all of the men and officers who served for the British and Imperial Forces between 1914 and 1915. This medal was instituted after the war, in December 1918. William also received a Victory Medal which was awarded to all who served for the British Empire and United Kingdom and a British War Medal. He qualified for this medal by receiving the other two medals first for his campaign service.

Bibliography:

- The AIF project- William Ferguson 2016, UNSW Australia- Canberra, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=96334

- Discovering Anzacs- William Ferguson n.d., National Archives of Australia, viewed 30 March 2020, https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/person/165265

- First World War Embarkation Roll- William Ferguson n.d., Australian War Memorial, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search/people?roll=First%20World%20War%20Embarkation%20Roll&people_preferred_name=William%20Ferguson&people_service_number=2769

- Rutherford, D 2014, The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) badges 1914-1918, Australian War Memorial, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/australian-imperial-force-aif-badges-1914-1918

- HMAT A68 Anchises 2019, BirtwistleWiki, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/HMAT_A68_Anchises

- British War Medal 2020, Wikipedia, viewed 30 March 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_War_Medal

- Discovering Anzacs- William Ferguson service record documents n.d., National Archives of Australia, viewed 30 March 2020, https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/72899/64

- First World War Embarkation Roll- William Ferguson n.d., Australian War Memorial, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1896369?image=1

- Murray, N 2016, Mine Warfare, International Encyclopedia of the First World War, viewed 30 March 2020, https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/mine_warfare

- 1914-15 Star Medal 2019, Wikipedia, viewed 30 March 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914%E2%80%9315_Star

- Victory Medal- WW1 era 2020, Forces War Records, viewed 30 March 2020, https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/medals/victory-medal

- Greenhous, B 2014, Battle of Amiens, The Canadian Encyclopedia, viewed 31 March 2020, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-amiens

- World War I n.d., Western Australia and Federation, viewed 31 March 2020, https://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/federation/fed/040_wwar.htm

- 10th Battalion (Australia) 2020, Wikipedia, viewed 31 March 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Battalion_(Australia)

- 10th Australian Infantry Battalion n.d., Australian War Memorial, viewed 31 March 2020, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51450

- Connor, J 2016, Government, Parliaments and Parties Australia, International Encyclopedia of the First World War, viewed 31 March 2020, https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/governments_parliaments_and_parties_australia

- Western Front (World War I) 2020, Wikipedia, viewed 31 March 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)

- Disease in the trenches 2018, The Biomedical Scientist, viewed 31 March 2020, https://thebiomedicalscientist.net/science/disease-trenches