Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The British born Joseph Wilson travelled from his home in Ballarat ,Victoria to enlist at Morphetville and form part of the initial intake of the 10th battalion and was assigned to D company on 25th of August. Just why Joseph left his home state is unknown but it was not uncommon for individuals to travel far from home to enlist.

Jospeh Wilson landed with the 10th battalion D company at Gallipoli in the first waves of the attack. On the 2nd of May 1915 he was wounded in action and evacuated to Mudros for treatment. This occurred during a period of intense frontal attacks by the Turkish forces in an attempt to dislodge the Anzac's from their slender hold on the pennisula. The battalion diary describes how the" Turks kept coming under murderous rifle and machine gun fire and many were killed on top of the parapit." The units losses were described as being relatively light with 10 killed and 20 wounded amonst these was Joseph Wilson.

Once back in Egypt he was part of the splitting up of the First division and was assigned to D company, 50th battalion. He arrived at Marseilles on the 12th of June 1916 and proceeded to the Somme valley battlefields. Before enetering action he was first promoted lance corporal and then one month later to the rank of corporal.

 The 50th battalion was caught up in heavy fighting in and around Mouquet farm north of the action for Pozieres from the 12th of August 1916. The unit diary records the unit moving into wire trench and that very heavy German shelling was making life very difficult for streatcher bearers. On the 14th the shelling was so heavy that trenches and saps were blown apart by the German barrage according to the battalion diary. According to his Red Cross file Corporal Wilson was lost once the company had advanced over the parapit on August 16th. However, this account does not match the units movement in the battalion diary which states that it was relieved on the 16th. There a number of errors in the Red Cross file which may indicate that it is the wrong person including a physical description of him being a tall Scotchman when his service record indicates he was only 5'7". It also reports two witnesses claiming he returned to the unit which his service record does not indicate. With a common surname such as Wilson the record keeping may have become somewhat confused. Due to the almost continuous shelling expereinced by Wilson's battalion one could almost safely assume he was one of many who was lost and buried somewhere in France.