HOWITT, William Gordon
| Service Numbers: | V250238, V250238, VX115748 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 December 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 8 Infantry Battalion AMF |
| Born: | Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia, 21 May 1914 |
| Home Town: | Deniliquin, Deniliquin, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Elimdale School, Morago, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Shearer |
| Died: | Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia, 27 May 2006, aged 92 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Deniliquin General Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Deniliquin War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 30 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V250238, 8 Infantry Battalion AMF | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Aug 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V250238, 8 Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 12 Aug 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX115748, 8 Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 1 Apr 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX115748, 8 Infantry Battalion AMF |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Corporal William Gordon Howitt (Service Nos:V250238/VX115748) initially served in the ACMF as a Private with 8th Australian Infantry Battalion from 30 December 1941 to 11 August 1942, enlisting the following day in the AIF 'in the field at Larrakeyah, Northern Territory. Private Howitt served in New Guinea, Bougainville, Fauro Island in the Solomons and Torokina, and was promoted to Corporal on 2 September 1945. Corporal Howitt was attached to 8 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 1 April 1946. Older brother Alec served in WWI and younger brother Ken served in WWII.
Gordon was born in Deniliquin, New South Wales in 1914, tenth of twelve children of Alexander (Alec) Howitt (b1865 in Banffshire, Scotland) and Jessie May Preston (b1876 in Moama, New South Wales). Alec was a Farm Servant in Scotland when he immigrated in 1889 on board the Jumna, moving to Deniliquin where he and Jessie married in 1894. The couple lived on Moira Station via Mathoura, where Alec worked as a Boundary Rider. In 1901 Alec took up farming land at 'Melrose' in Calimo via Deniliquin, where he and Jsessie settled and raised their family and Alec was a Farmer/Grazier.
Gordon worked as a Farm Labourer on 'Melrose', and was a Shearer in Deniliquin in 1941 when he enlisted in the Army. Following his Discharge from the Army, Gordon returned to 'Melrose', and was working as a Farm Labourer in 1947 when he married Margaret (Peg) Ellen McDonnell (b1919 in Hamilton, Victoria) in Deniliquin. In the early 1950s Gordon and Peg settled in Deniliquin, where they raised their family and Gordon worked as a Shearer until retirement. Peg died in 1997 and Gordon in 2006.
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