KNEE, William George
| Service Number: | 2218 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lilydale, Victoria, Australia, 21 July 1886 |
| Home Town: | Lilydale, Yarra Ranges, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Orchardist |
| Died: | Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, 28 November 1976, aged 90 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Lilydale Civil Cemetery Location CE2 112 Area Church of England 2 |
| Memorials: | Croydon War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Feb 1916: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2218, 57th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2218, 57th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Orsova, Melbourne | |
| 13 Feb 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, 59th Infantry Battalion, Transferred to reinforce 59th Battalion in France | |
| 19 Aug 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, 2218 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Susan Weisser
William George Knee was the fifth of eleven children born to Sarah Hardidge and Thomas Knee who were Orchardists at Yarra Rd, Croydon, Victoria.
William George Knee enlisted on 29 February 1916 at the age of 29 years 6 months, Service Number 2218 and occupation Orchardist. He was initially assigned to the 57th Battalion. When he enlisted his next of kin was given as his father, Thomas. His Next Of Kin record was subsequently changed to his wife when in June 1916 he married Mary Elizabeth Cook. This was only a few weeks before he was shipped out as on 1 August 1916 he boarded the Orsova for the passage to the UK and then on 13 February 1917 he was sent to France as part of reinforcement troops for the 59th Battalion.
William was wounded in action on 26 March 1917, only a few weeks after arriving in France. He suffered a Gun Shot Wound to the right shoulder which saw him transferred to various hospitals in France over the next few months before being sufficiently recovered that on 30 September 1917 he was detached to the 15th Australian Infantry Brigade Headquarters for duty as a Camp Warden before being returned to the front line and 59th Battalion on 12 October 1917.
William had a further hospital admission on 27 April 1918 due to “Synovitis of the knee” which was noted as an old injury. This happened only a couple of days after the 59th Battalion had been involved in the recapture of Villers-Bretonneux on ANZAC Day (25 April) 1918. For this injury he was transferred back to the UK for hospital treatment. Recovering he was sent back to France on 4 October 1918 just before the end of the war. It was another 10 months before he was sent back to Australia (August 1919) on the Port Lyttleton and ultimately discharged on 19 September 1919.
William was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal but never collected these until in February 1954 when Miriam Knee wrote to the Army and asked them to send his medals to him.
William George Knee died in November 1976 at age 90 and is buried in the Lilydale Cemetery.
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