Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William Henry Cameron, known as Will, was born on 12th July 189 in Ballarat VIC, the eldest of 6 children born to his parents of Henry Angus and Sarah Cameron.  He had 4 sisters and 1 brother…Elizabeth, Sarah, Isabel, Lillian and Keith.  Will’s occupation as motor mechanic began with an apprenticeship with Tarrant Motor Coy of Launceston.  By 1895 the family had moved from Launceston to Brunswick in Melbourne VIC where Will served 12 months with the 63rd Infantry at Eastern Hill. 

Will enlisted in the AIF on 12th September 1914 at Melbourne VIC aged 21.  He’s described as being 5ft 6ins tall with a dark complexion, grey eyes and dark hair.  His service number was 141, his rank Sapper and he was assigned to the 3rd Field Company Engineers Sections 1,2 and 4.  He embarked from Melbourne for Hobart TAS on HMAT Geelong on 22nd September 1914 and upon arrival there proceeded to Brighton Army Camp at Pontville TAS.  After completing his training he re-embarked on HMAT Geelong from Hobart bound for Egypt.  He disembarked at Alexandria on 10th December 1914 and proceeded to Mena Camp. 

In early January 1915 he and his unit proceeded to Kantara to commence construction of pontoon bridges over the Suez Canal.  The bridgeheads were constructed at Kantara, Ferry Post and Serapeum, and it was used for general transportation purposes at all three places, the greatest distance bridge being at Kantara where the length was 427 feet.  The material used in the construction of the bridge included 22 double float pontoons, improvised from metal cylinders formerly used to carry discharge pipes of suction dredges.  Each cylinder was 16ft 6ins long and 4ft in diameter.

After completing their work on the Suez Canal Will and his Company returned to Mena Camp in late February.  They remained there till early April when they proceeded to Alexandria for embarkation to Gallipoli on HMT City of Benares.  They anchored in Mudros Bay offshore of Lemnos Island on 7th April and underwent training until proceeding to Gallipoli to take part in the landings on 25th April1915.  Will was wounded in the left knee and ankle on the 4th May 1915 when he was one of 10 volunteers sent to carry out a mission at Gaba Tepe.  He wrote a letter to his Mother describing his experience with both events which was published in the newspaper at the time.  The following is an extract of that letter:

“They called for 10 volunteers to go with 100 infantry to land and capture a fort lower down the coast, and to blow it up.  I was one.  We got on to a destroyer at 1.30 in the morning, and went to the place, and were towed ashore for a bit by pinnaces in boats. Then the boats' crews rowed to the beach.  We Engineers were loaded up with guncotton and heavy explosives. The moment the boats touched the ground, and we jumped out up to our neck in the water, the Turks opened a terrific rifle and machine gun fire on us.  Of course we had to run to the cover of the cliff, about 30 yards off.  Men were falling all around me, and as I tried to run to cover I slipped, and the weight of the pack and explosives kept me from travelling fast. I got halfway when I felt an awful bang in the foot, and fell, but kept on crawling until two chaps ran out and pulled me into cover.  By this time the others who were not hit were in cover and the guns were playing on me, so I was lucky to be alive.  I am hit under the knee right through.  The bullet missed the main artery by a fraction, but it shattered the main nerve.  It is three weeks since then, and all the pain I get is in the foot.  The wound is nearly healed up, but I cannot straighten the leg, and all the foot is number.  When they sent a boat in for the wounded the Turks let it get in, and when they put us in and shoved off for the ship they opened on us again.  There were a couple killed, and got extra wounds, but I was again fortunate. B. F. G. McKenzie risked his life by carrying me to the boat.  He and a chap named Roy Bowden, of Hobart, carried me, and I shall never forget it.  I hope to repay it someday.  I think they got back safely.  Later on they had to abandon the attempt for want of numbers, but it was captured later on by a battalion.  I was put on hospital ship, and three days later arrived at Heliopolis Hotel.”

After being wounded Will was evacuated from Gallipoli to Alexandria on the hospital ship HMHS Gascon.  He was admitted to 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis where he remained until being classified permanently and medically unfit for duty and was invalided to Australia embarking from Suez on HMAT Themistocles on 15th August 1915.  During the voyage Will contracted rheumatic fever which left him very weak.  The wounds he received had severed the nerves and sinews of his left leg and he had practically lost the use of it.  Upon arrival in Australia he was admitted to the 9th General Hospital in Hobart TAS.  He was discharged from hospital in early February 1916 and returned to Launceston where his family were living.  He was discharged from the Army on 15th October 1916.

Sapper McKenzie, who was later wounded himself, was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions in rescuing Will on the day he was wounded at Gallipoli.  After recovering McKenzie returned to duty and was mentioned in despatches for bravery. 

With Will not being able to return to the war he became passionate about the plight of returned Soldiers and together with Corporal Littler he went on to be instrumental in forming the Returned Soldiers’ Association No. 2 Branch at Launceston and became its first honorary Secretary.  He organised a series of fund raising concerts all around the Northern parts of Tasmania where he and other returned soldiers provided musical entertainment and skits to raise money for the new body.  He was also part of the process of amalgamating the branch with a like one formed in Hobart so as to provide a united voice for the returned soldiers throughout Tasmania.

The other passion he had was in furthering the debate to support Prime Minister Billy Hughes’ call for the introduction of conscription.  In his role as Secretary of the Returned Soldiers Association he became involved in touring the State organizing and speaking at rallies to support the referendum.  Will continued to run fundraising concerts around Tasmania up until at least 1920 and probably up until he returned to Victoria to live with his parents in 1925 while working in sales.  He subsequently married his first wife, Ida Fortey at St Mark’s Church, Darling Point NSW on 2nd January 1926.  He and Ida moved to Sydney where Will worked as a company director.  They welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1937.  Ida was hospitalised and passed away in 1941.

In 1943 Will married Iris Rebecca May Greanay in Victoria and together they had two sons, John and Robert.  The family lived in Melbourne where Will was employed as a company manager. 

On the 2nd August 1950 Will passed away at Sydney NSW aged 56.  His funeral was held at Bathurst Memorial Chapel at Elsternwick VIC and he was cremated and had his ashes scattered at Springvale Botanical Cemetery VIC.  Funeral notices were placed by his family and the Caulfield branch of the RSSAILA as well as the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne of which he’d been a councillor. 

Will’s life was honoured by his grandson Andrew in a television documentary called “Road to Gallipoli.”  Andrew and his father, Will’s son, also journeyed to Gallipoli for the Centenary in 2015 and Andrew wrote a blog about his experience. 

For his service in WW1 William Henry Cameron was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Anzac Commemorative Medallion. 

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 17th July 2023.

Sources

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1004689?image=1

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50822493?searchTerm=%22will%20cameron%22&searchLimits=l-state=Tasmania#