Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William was the son of Richard Anthony WILSON & Emma NORRIS and was born in 1891 in Maldon, VIC.

His parents were married on the 28th of July 1885 in Maldon, VIC.

His father was the son of John WILSON & Mary Ann HOKIN and was born in 1864 in Maldon, VIC.
His mother was the daughter of William G NORRIS & Emma Turner GUYMER and was born in 1865 in Maldon, VIC.

William was the third child born into this family of 6 children.

His father was a miner and they lived in Hornsby Street, Maldon, VIC.

William and his siblings were educated in Maldon Public School and then William became a butcher.

By 1913 William had moved to Wallaroo and was a restaurant keeper.

William married Effie Kathleen BUCK on the 5th of July 1913 at the residence of Mr Wiltshire in Wallaroo, SA.
Effie was the daughter of Thomas Lyons BUCK & Rose Augusta PRETTEJOHN and was born on the 6th of April 1896 in Wallaroo, SA.

They welcomed their first child; Alma Roseleen Emma, on the 9th of January 1914, followed by Ruby Valda in September 1915.

Sadly Effie died in the Wallaroo Hospital on the 30th of September 1915 and William buried her in the Wallaroo Cemetery.

William was now a widow with 2 little girls under the age of 3.

At the age of 26, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 18th of January 1916 in Adelaide and allotted the service number 414 and posted to A Company, 2nd Depot Battalion at Exhibition Camp. He was then transferred to the 43rd Battalion.

William embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A19 Afric on the 9th of June 1916 and whilst he was overseas he left his 2 little girls in the care of their grandmother; Mrs Buck, in Wallaroo.
He never saw active service and embarked from England on board HT Suevic on the 27th of September 1917, disembarking in Adelaide on the 18th of November.

William was discharged from the AIF, medically unfit, on the 4th of December 1917.

William then married Clarissa Nieman ROBERTS on the 21st of May 1918 in the Methodist Church, Pt Wakefield.
Clarissa was the daughter of Joseph ROBERTS & Grace Burley WOOD and was born on the 5th of February 1896 in Mallala, SA.

They welcomed their first child; Leslie Allan, on the 1st of April 1919.

Little Ruby died on the 10th of September 1919 and William buried her in the Wallaroo Cemetery with Effie.

William and Clarissa they moved to No 3 Lane, Kadina and William started a butchers business.

Sadly little Leslie died on the 25th of April 1921 in Kadina and they buried him in the Kadina Cemetery; Path 13, Block 48.

They then welcomed Baxter William into the family on the 16th of February 1922 in Kadina.
Verna Joy was then born on the 12th of August 1924 and then in March 1926 William sold his business and purchased another in Yorketown.
After just over a year here they sold the business and moved back to Kadina where Gordon Deville was born on the 5th of February 1928.

By 1935 they had moved to Pt Broughton where William was a butcher and then in the early 1940’s they moved to 4 Syme Street, Whyalla and William joined the Whyalla RSL Sub-Branch.

With the outbreak of WW2 and following their father’s service to Australia his 3 children enlisted for service:-

Baxter enlisted into the RAN (PA3237) on the 6th of October 1942.
Verna enlisted into the AWAS (SF113087) on the 2nd of March 1943.
Gordon enlisted into the RAN on the 12th of March 1946.

William died on the 12th of November 1966 in Whyalla and was buried in the Whyalla Cemetery; Section C, Row 15, Plot 12.

Clarissa died on the 22nd of September 1984 in Whyalla and is buried in the Whyalla Cemetery.

Military

At the age of 26, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 18th of January 1916 in Adelaide and allotted the service number 414 and posted to A Company, 2nd Depot Battalion at Exhibition Camp.
He listed his mother, of Hornsby Street, Maldon, VIC as his next of kin.

On the 1st of February he was transferred to A Company, 1st Depot Battalion and then on the 7th of March he was transferred to the newly raised 43rd Battalion, B Company at Morphettville Camp.

The Battalion consisted of men who had but recently enlisted, and were practically raw recruits, most of whom had joined up in January and February.

Early in April musketry was commenced throughout the Battalion with each section forming a separate squad and undergoing ten days progressive instruction in the art of handling the rifle, the course being completed by the firing of an application and grouping practice on the miniature range in the dry bed of the Sturt River.
An open range was prepared in the sand hills between Glenelg and Henley, where for two days portions of the Battalion were engaged with the service rifle; but the working of these targets proved so slow and tedious that arrangements were made to secure the use of the butts at Port Adelaide, special trains conveying the troops to and from this place. Two complete days firing was given to each company, during which grouping, application, snap shooting, and rapid practices at 100, 200, and 300 yards were completed.
William gained four days leave, known as "long leave," on the 19th and this embraced the Easter Holidays, this being the last furlough granted prior to the Battalion's departure from Australia. The free weekends still being maintained and to those living within thirty miles of Adelaide, when desired, was extended to Monday morning.

The Battalion attended a number of functions and ceremonies, chief among which were the presentation of colours at Glenelg, the Military Tattoo on the Jubilee Oval, and the farewell dinner provided in the Exhibition Building by the Cheer-up Society; while occasional trips to the theatre were arranged, special trains usually being provided for the conveyance of the Unit to and from Morphettville. A certain amount of amusement was supplied within the camp on several occasions by concert parties.

During the whole period of training, equipment and clothing were gradually issued and they were fitted out for departure, signing for every article received and having numerous inspections to ascertain what shortages existed. The health of the men also received continuous attention, vaccination and two inoculations being administered in the early days, while dental inspections and subsequent treatment rectified any defects of the mouth.

The first week of June was spent in final preparations to embark on the 9th of June, the quartermasters and clerical departments being the most busily engaged. A final pay was drawn and as much leave as possible granted and by the 8th all preparations for embarkation had been completed, and the transport section had left for the Outer Harbour.

Dawn of June 9th was breaking behind the Mount Lofty Ranges when reveille sounded, rousing the whole camp to the activities of final preparations for departure, including the handing in of camp equipment and stores.

At 9.40 a.m. the first train, bearing Headquarters and A and B Companies, including William, left Morphettville Station followed half-an-hour later by a second train with the remainder of the Battalion.
On reaching Port Adelaide the train proceeded by the old route down St. Vincent Street, where a large and enthusiastic crowd assembled to bid farewell to the unit. An hour later the Outer Harbour was reached and there followed a rapid embarkation on board their transport, HMAT A19 Afric.

William embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A19 Afric on the 9th of June 1916 and William now realised that this was the commencement of the long, long trail, the end of which none could foretell.

The journey through The Bight was cold and rough, causing sickness to 70 per cent of the men. Land was first sighted at daybreak of the 13th of June and after passing through King George Sound they anchored in Albany Harbour at 11.30 am, when coaling immediately commenced.
The next day the boat drew alongside the wharf, and all were allowed ashore for a few hours.
At noon the same day the journey was resumed and soon the shores of William’s homeland receded from view.
That night it was learnt that the next port of call would be Colombo. As the result of a long period of calm weather that followed the departure from Albany, it was possible to conduct training, consisting of musketry, physical exercises, bayonet fighting, and boat drill, limited in extent by the small area of deck space available.

As the tropics were approached, permission to sleep on deck was granted, and a large majority, including William availed themselves of the privilege. By day a minimum amount of clothing was worn, the heavier uniform being abandoned for the lighter and more comfortable suit of dungarees.

Early on the morning of June 26th the island of Ceylon was sighted and by 10 a.m. the transport anchored in the harbour of Colombo. Coal barges were soon drawn along side the boat and coaling operations, conducted by the natives, commenced.
That afternoon they were taken ashore on lighters and marched to the military barracks in Colombo. There a wet canteen was placed at the disposal of the troops and native vendors of views, fruit, etc., offered their goods. As this was the first opportunity for some weeks of purchasing articles from other than the ship's canteen a brisk business resulted.

The following day the journey resumed at 3.45 p.m.
The voyage to Suez differed very little from the previous fortnight, except that during the four days in the Red Sea extreme heat was experienced, causing exhaustion to several of the stokers, whose work was undertaken for two days by volunteers from the troops.
By noon of July 11th Suez was reached and all preparations for disembarkation were completed.

Orders were, however, received from the military authorities that the journey was to be continued through the Mediterranean and at 4 pm an entrance was made into the Canal, the interesting surroundings of which attracted attention for sixteen hours. Along the bank were encamped Australian and English troops, who formed a portion of the Canal Garrison. An opportunity to converse with some of these was afforded by the boat being delayed for an hour at Ismalia.

By 8.30 am on the 12th the Canal was cleared and entry made into Port Said, where a transport conveying English troops southward was passed. Natives were again employed in coaling, which caused much inconvenience to those on board, as no leave ashore was granted. Numerous hawkers in small dinghies visited the boat, but not being allowed on deck were obliged to transact their sales by means of rope and basket.
Here an A 4.7 naval gun was mounted aft and manned by Royal Navy gunners and on departure at 2pm on the 13th, H.M. destroyer "Telmar," which had seen service with the Australians on Gallipoli, acted as their escort. These protective measures against submarines were augmented by the pre cautions of constant changes of course, screening of lights, and increase of sentries, whose duty was the outlook for enemy craft.

On passing Malta, the "Telmar" was relieved by a larger destroyer, but before departing semaphored "Australians, good-bye and good luck," on receipt of which cheers were interchanged between transport and escort. Daily routine on board continued until Marseilles was approached on the evening of July 19th, when at 10 pm the pilot was taken aboard, but the harbour was not entered until eight o'clock the next morning. This ended a six weeks successful journey on the "Afric".

At 3 pm on July 20th they disembarked and moved to Arran-Point Station, where they immediately entrained and at 5.35 pm left for Havre.
The journey through Southern France was most interesting, new types of villages, cultivation, and railway organisation being introduced. The scenery, especially that of the Rhone Valley, was superb, and the bright mid summer day showed the surroundings at their best.

A halt was made near Avignon, where hot tea and rations were issued, and on resumption of the journey the troops quickly settled down for the night. At 8 am on the 21st the train passed through Lyons, and at 3.45 pm Dijon was reached, and the French Red Cross workers served tea and cake to the Battalion.
Breakfast next morning was partaken of thirteen miles from Paris, Juvisy, from which, after a halt of two hours, the journey continued through Versailles, along the Seine Valley to Nantes, where a break was made for another meal, thence to Rouen and Havre.
Here the Battalion detrained and marched to a Rest Camp, where most of the men spent a cold night on cobbles. The following afternoon embarkation for England took place, and at dusk the Channel transport commenced its six-hour journey, reaching Southampton at daybreak and they disembarked at 7.30 am.
After two hours waiting on the wharf they were entrained for Amesbury Station on Salisbury Plain, where the Battalion detrained. An hour later Lark Hill was reached and the whole afternoon devoted to settling down in No.12 Camp. This was the training area for the 43rd Battalion prior to its departure for the front.
The first few days were spent in settling down in this new camp, which was one of about fifty of similar design located at Lark Hill, most of which were so fitted as to accommodate a complete battalion.

They spent the next few months here in training and whilst here William was admitted into the Fargo Military Hospital on the 25th of October for 4 days and then returned to his Battalion. He was then admitted into the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital in Bulford 6 days later and remained here until the 13th of December 1916.

During the time he was in hospital his Battalion had proceeded to France.
William was then readmitted into hospital on the 20th of December where he spent Christmas 1916 and remained here until the 7th of January when he was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield.

William was eventually discharged to No.1 Command Depot in Perham Dows on the 20th of June 1917. He was classified as unfit for service due to defective vision and transferred to No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth for return to Australia.

William embarked from England on board HT Suevic on the 27th of September 1917, disembarking in Adelaide on the 18th of November.

William was discharged from the AIF, medically unfit, on the 4th of December 1917 and awarded the British War Medal.