SWAN, William Adamson
| Service Numbers: | W12063, WX11696, WX11696 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 August 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/22nd Field Park Company |
| Born: | Dysart, Fifeshire, Scotland, 18 October 1919 |
| Home Town: | Collie, Collie, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Wheeler |
| Died: | Collie, Western Australia, 29 December 2009, aged 90 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Collie General Cemetery, Western Australia The Western Australian Garden of Remembrance |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 24 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, W12063, 44 Infantry Battalion AMF | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Apr 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX11696 | |
| 23 Sep 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sapper, WX11696, 2nd/22nd Field Park Company, embarked Fremantle for Middle East | |
| 28 Mar 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sapper, WX11696, 2nd/22nd Field Park Company, embarked Middle East for Ceylon | |
| 8 Aug 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sapper, WX11696, 2nd/22nd Field Park Company, embarked Ceylon for Melbourne | |
| 10 Nov 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sapper, WX11696 , 2nd/22nd Field Park Company, embarked Brisbane for Port Moresby on board the Duntroon | |
| 1 Feb 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sapper, WX11696 , 2nd/22nd Field Park Company, embarked Port Moresby for Brisbane on board the Tarooma | |
| 19 Dec 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX11696 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sapper William Adamson Swan (Service Nos:W12063/WX11696) initially served in the ACMF as a Private with 44th Battalion from 24 August 1940, before enlisting in the AIF on 9 April 1941 as a Private attached to 2/48 Battalion. Private Swan served with 2/22 Field Park Coy in the Middle East (23 September 1941 - 28 March 1942), Ceylon (April - August 1942) and New Guinea (10 November 1942 - 1 February 1943). Sapper Swan was attached to 2/22nd Field Park Coy at Discharge on 19 December 1944.
Bill was born in Fifeshire, Scotland in 1919, second of five children of John Adamson Swan Snr (b1895 in Fifeshire, Scotland) and Alison (Alice) Bell Wright (b1896 in Fifeshire, Scotland). John and Alice married in 1916 in Edinburgh, and John was a Clerk when he immigrated with his family in 1926, arriving in Albany WA on board the Themistocles. John and Alice settled in Collie, where they raised their family and John initially worked as a Miner before becoming a Grocer.
Bill worked in Collie for the Main Roads and was a Wheeler in the Coal Mines in 1940 when he enlisted in the Army. Following his Discharge, he returned to Collie and, in 1947 in Bunbury, married Sylvia Lydia Dawn Stuchbury (b1928 in Collie, Western Australia). Bill and Sylvia settled in Collie, where they raised their family and Bill was a Miner. On 4 May 1942, Bill was awarded the Bravery Medal 'for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril' (Trove; 1992). Bill died in 2009 and Sylvia in 2018.
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