Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William Alfred John Sparks: Biography

Before William Alfred John Sparks enlisted for the war he worked as a hairdresser and was Presbyterian. He was married to Violet Sparks. They had one child (name unknown) and lived at 12 Penny Place, Adelaide but later moved to 104 Halifax Street. He was the son of David Sparks and Sarah Elizabeth Judd Sparks. His siblings were Harold Clifton Sparks and Wallace Stewart Sparks. His grandparents were John and Elena Judd. His brother, Harold was a Lance Corporal in WWI in France with the 3rd Field Company Engineers. His father, David, was also a Private in the army. Sparks was five feet, four and a half inches tall and weighed 113 lbs. He had auburn hair, blue eyes and his skin complexion was fair.

He was training in Australia as a Private from the 9th of August 1915 with the 10th Battalion 12th Reinforcement until the 2nd of December 1915 when he left Australia and headed to the Western Front. On the 8th of April 1916 he was sent to hospital, the reason for this is not noted in the records. He was well enough to go back to service on the 25th of April 1916. He was again hospitalised because he was sick in France on the 14th of February 1917. He re-joined his battalion from hospital on the 2nd of June 1917. However, the time between is unaccounted for and on the 27th of June 1917 he was charged with being absent without leave (A.W.L.) in France from 6pm on the 22nd of May until 9:30am on the 1st of June. He was confined and awaiting trial between the 2nd of June 1917 and the 26th of June. He served 60 days of punishment. Later that year whilst serving in the 10th Battalion he was again charged for being absent without leave. He was ordered to proceed to the front line from the trench known as “China Wall” in Belgium at 11pm on the 3rd of October. He absented himself until he surrendered to the military police on the 5th of October. He was found guilty and sentenced to 5 years penal servitude. On the 14th of December his sentence was reduced to 2 years. The remaining portion of his sentence was suspended on the 20th of June 1918. Subsequently on the 4th of August 1918 he again absented himself from the 10th Battalion in Hazebrouck in the North of France. The records are unclear whether he was still absent until the remainder of the war. At the end of the war on the 12th of March 1919 Private Sparks was charged with desertion and with escaping whilst under arrest. He was found guilty of desertion and the second charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to 15 years penal servitude. He had been awaiting trial since the 10th of February 1919. He was admitted to prison on the 14th of April in Dunkirk, France. He was sent to Calais and put aboard the ship T.T. 'Maid of Orleans' and was transferred to Portland Prison on the 20th of May 1919. At this point his sentence was reduced to 2 years. The remaining portion of his sentence was dismissed from the date that he boarded the ship back home to Australia from Devon, England on the 8th of October 1919.

After the war in 1921 he sent a letter to the Officer of Base Records inquiring about the war medals he believed he should have received. He got a reply saying that he forfeited all rights to the medals he would’ve earnt due to his illegal absences. Again in 1945 he sent a letter asking the same thing but received another letter back saying the same thing and never received the medals he earnt. It is hard to say if Sparks reflected the ANZAC spirit as he did run away from the war three times and wasn’t very loyal, but he was eligible for three war medals although his illegal absence made him forfeit them.

ANZAC Spirit

He was eligible for the British War medal as he entered service overseas, the Star medal because he fought against the Central European powers and the Victory medal because he received the Star medal and the British war medal, however the Victory medal was never awarded alone. He may not have shown some of the qualities of an ANZAC as others did but he did show some qualities. Even though it wasn’t necessarily towards the fighting he was determined because he kept persisting through the war, running away three times, hiding and just trying to stay alive so he could see his wife again. Sparks had the courage to run away not only once but he kept trying and ended up running away three times. He knew this was wrong but did it to stay alive and escape the trauma he was going through. Sparks was a committed soldier. He fought through injuries and survived through so much. All he wanted to do was go back home to his family and he was committed to making that happen.