Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William Joseph ANDERSON was born on 23rd December 1890 in Prahran, Victoria, the eldest of seven children born to parents Catherine (nee KEALY) and Joseph David ANDERSON.  On 8th August 1906, he married Esther Ann MURNANE and they had a son, John Edward, who was born in Creswick later that year.  About 1910, William left his family in search of work, and arrived in Broken Hill, New South Wales, in 1912.

On 5th September 1914, following the outbreak of World War 1, William enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Morphettville, South Australia, under the name of William ANDERSON.  He put his age up three years, to 26, and stated that he was a single shearer with no dependants, nominating his father Joseph as his next of kin.  He was allocated to "A" Company of the 10th Infantry Battalion as a Private, regimental number 1051.  After completing recruit training at Morphetville Racecourse, Belair National Park and Glenelg, the Battalion embarked in Adelaide on 20th October 1914 aboard HMAT Ascanius, for active service overseas.

The 10th Battalion disembarked in Alexandria, Egypt, on 7th December, and proceeded to Mena Camp, just outside Cairo.  For the next three months, they underwent extensive training in the surrounding desert.  On 28th February 1915, they departed Mena Camp and returned to Alexandria via train, where they boarded the Greek steamer, Ionian, on Monday 1st March.  The following day they left Egypt bound for the island of Lemnos, where they arrived on 4th March, for further training.  The entry in the Unit War Diary at this time reads, "We expect to leave for Dardanelles on Friday 23rd April".

At 3am on Sunday 25th April 1915, the men of the 9th, 10th and 11th Infantry Battalions - the covering force for the main ANZAC landing - were aboard troop transport ships off Gallipoli, when they were ordered to begin the climb into life boats.  These would then be towed by steam boats to within 50 yards of the shore.  At that point, they were rowing silently toward the beach... The Unit Diary reports, "Absolute silence was maintained by all in our boats, & directly the boats were cast off by the steamers we quietly rowed towards the shore.  Dawn was just breaking 4.15, & no sound was heard except the splash of the oars, we thought that our landing was to be effected quite unopposed, but when our boats were within about 30 yards of the beach a rifle was fired from the hill in front of us above the beach, right in front of where we were heading for.  Almost immediately heavy rifle and machine gun fire was opened upon us, we had to row for another 15 yards or so before we reached water shallow enough to get out of boats, this was about 4.15am - we got out of boats into about 3ft of water & landed on a stony bottom, the stones were round & slimy, & many officers & men slipped on them & fell into the water, but all bravely & silently made all haste to reach the beach, under a perfect hail of bullets...".

Along with the 9th and 11th Battalions, the men of the 10th Battalion were ordered to drop their packs and lay down on the beach and fix bayonets, and were shortly thereafter given the order to advance.  The Diary continues, "The men sprang to their feet at once & with a cheer charged up the hill held by the Turks & drove them off it, following up their success by firing on the quickly retreating foe".

The 10th Battalion reported that by 0830, they had advanced over a mile inland, but when the enemy were seen to develop a "strong counter attack", they dug in on the forward slope of Shrapnel Ridge.

With their position being subjected to artillery shelling on a daily basis, William was wounded in action on 23rd May, sustaining severe shrapnel wounds to his left forearm.  He was evacuated to the No. 1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, and subsquently transported and admitted to the No. 1 Australian General Hospital in Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt, on 28th May.

On 24th May 1915 William was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.

William embarked in Suez for return to Australia aboard HMAT Themistocles on 15th August 1915.  He arrived in Adelaide on 9th September, where he was admitted to the 7th Australian General Hospital in Keswick on 11th September.  He was subsequently discharged medically unfit in the 4th Military District, South Australia, on 8th May 1916, due to disability (shrapnel wounds, and subluxation of lens of right eye).  For his service, William was later awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.  He was eligible to receive the ANZAC Commemorative Medallion, which was instituted in 1967.

Two of William's younger brothers also served with the AIF, both with the 7th Infantry Battalion.  Private John Edward ANDERSON (after whom William named his son), was killed in action during the Landing at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, aged 22.  Private Donald Richard ANDERSON was killed in action in France on 9th August 1918, aged 18.

In March 1917, William's wife Esther applied for, and was granted, a divorce from William, on the grounds of desertion.  On 18th August 1919, William married Alice Gertrude MCMAHON in Broken Hill.

William and Alice settled in Moira Park, 64km South East of Wilcannia, NSW, in 1921.  Here, they ran a sheep station, before selling up and moving back to Broken Hill in 1927.  William, colloquially known by the nickname of "Anzac" around town, was a prominent bookmaker for several years.

As the newly elected secretary-business manager of the Barrier branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League, which operated a Soldiers' Hostel on the premises, William applied to be granted a licence to operate the Palace Hotel in Broken Hill, on 28th February 1940.  The magistrate hearing the application noted that William had previously been a bookmaker, and requested assurance from William that no illegal gambling would be permitted on the premises.  With William agreeing, the licence was duly granted.

On 2nd May 1942, with World War 2 raging and the threat of a possible Japanese invasion looming, William enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) in Broken Hill, for part-time duty on home service.  He was allocated as a Private, Army number S76599, with the Broken Hill Detached Company of the 6th Battalion.  On this occasion, he provided his full name, correct age of 52, and gave his normal occupation as a grazier, who was at the time the manager of the Palace Hotel, Broken Hill.  He nominated his wife Alice as his next of kin.

Following the end of WW2, William was discharged from the VDC on 11th November 1945, "because of the disbandment of his Corps".  He was likely eligible for the award of the 1939-45 War Medal and the Australia Service Medal for his part-time service over more than three years.

After continuing to manage the Palace Hotel throughout the War, William sought to have the hotel licence transferred to another party, in August 1948.  He was later engaged in work as a labourer at the Woomera Rocket Range in South Australia, where he was injured in an accident on 20th August 1951.  This saw him being admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital after his arm was caught in a rotary brick machine, causing serious injuries that resulted in his retirement.

William Joseph "Anzac" ANDERSON died in Broken Hill Hospital, NSW, on 25th January 1954, aged 64.  Following a well attended service at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, he was buried in the Catholic Section of the Broken Hill Cemetery (Section XA, Row 2, Grave 16).  His wife Alice was buried in the same plot, following her death on 7th January 1971.

Compiled by Karan CAMPBELL-DAVIS from historical records kept by the National Archives of Australia (WW1 and WW2 Service Records); the Australian War Memorial (10th Infantry Battalion Unit War Diaries);  Births, Deaths and Marriages (Victoria and NSW);  Broken Hill Cemetery Records;  Barrier Miner 25th January 1954, and various newspaper articles on Trove.