WOODWARD, Unni William
| Service Number: | 5042 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 19th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney New South Wales, Australia, April 1887 |
| Home Town: | Campsie, Canterbury, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | State sheet metal worker |
| Died: | Wounds neck and spine, 61st casualty Clearing Station, Vignacourt, France, 29 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Vignacourt British Cemetery, Picardie Vignacourt British Cemetery (Plot I, Row C, Grave No. 10), France, Vignacourt British Cemetery, Vignacourt, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5042, 19th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 5042, 19th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 5042, 19th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ajana, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From François Berthout
On this day of remembrance, I would like, with great respect and gratitude, to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 5042 Unni William Woodward who fought in the 19th Australian infantry battalion and who died of his wounds 102 years ago April 29, 1918 at the age of 31
Unni William Woodward was born in 1886 in Sydney, New South Wales and he was the son of Henry Benjamin and Elizabeth Woodward. Before the war, Unni lived in Ethelville, Crinan Street, Hurlestone Park, New South Wales and he worked as a State sheet metal worker
Enlisted on August 9, 1915 at the age of 28 in the 19th Australian infantry battalion, 13th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A31 Ajana on July 5, 1916. Disembarked on Plymouth, England where he received his training and embarked for France with his unit from Folkestone, England on board SS Onward and he arrived in Etaples, France, on November 13, 1916 and joined the trenches of the Somme on January 9, 1917.
shortly after, Unni suffered from Influenza and trench fever and was evacuated to England and was treated at the War Hospital of Dartford, England. After his healing he returned to France to join his battalion on the Somme front on August 1, 1917, unfortunately, eight months later, during the German offensive of April 24, 1918 to take Villers Bretonneux, he was wounded in the neck and spine on April 28 and was evacuated to the 61st casualty Clearing Station in Vignacourt and died of his wounds the next day, April 29, 1918 at the age of 31.
Today, Unni William Woodward rests in peace at Vignacourt British Cemetery, Somme
Thank you with all my heart sir, you who came to do your duty from the other side of the world, you fought with courage and bravery on the bruised lands of the Somme, this sacred land for which so much blood has flowed and too many lives were mowed.You who fell so that the next generations can live in peace, today we stand in front of you with respect. I think that today you would be proud to see that the French people and the Australians people are always united by an indestructible friendship, a friendship which was born thanks to your courage, 102 years later we do not forget you, we do not forget your comrades and friends of all nationalities who rest in peace by your side and we will always be grateful to you sir, for all that you have done for us
lest we forget🌺
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