Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

UNIT NUMBER 4533 William Sparks was born in Dorking Surrey on May 8 1886. He was one of three children and it is not known why or when William came to Australia, leaving behind his parents and siblings. When war broke out in 1914, William was living in the Margaret River area and working as a teamster. It is possible that William was working in the timber industry that was well established in the area at the time. As a teamster his job would have been working with a team of horses to drag out fallen trees and getting them to the mill. One year to the day after the Australian troops had landed at Gallipoli - April 25 1916; William went to Bunbury to enlist in the army. Having no family here in Australia, William listed his mother Ellen as his next of kin. With the war taking enormous numbers of men killed and wounded, William was rushed through his training period. Three weeks after arriving at Blackboy Hill Camp, he was boarding HMATA9 “Shropshire” on March 31 and sailing off to Alexandria. William was now a member of the 28th Battalion, 11th Reinforcements. This group stayed in Alexandria for a few weeks receiving further training, before being dispatched to France on May 10 aboard HT “Scontain”. Yet to be blooded in battle, William and his mates didn’t have to wait long. June 1916 saw the Battle of Poziers begin. Enduring heavy artillery bombardment that went on for days on end, tear gas and phosgene gas attacks; life was difficult for the 28th. By July the allies held Poziers. But the Germans needed the town and the ridge it sat on as part of their defensive ring and the order came to reclaim it at any cost. July 23 saw three attacks on our men, but the allies held. Again on July 27 the Germans attacked Poziers, but again they were unsuccessful. The bombardment of Poziers over these days was the worst any Australian division had ever seen. Shell shocked and exhausted the Australian troops were enlisted to dig trenches forward for another attack. These trenches were mercilessly bombed by the Germans but on August 6, William’s war came to an end when he was wounded. Suffering a severe gunshot wound to the leg, and also gunshot wounds to the scalp and hand, William was evacuated for medical treatment. Four days later he was at the French coast at Bolougne ready for transfer to England where he was admitted to the Wharcliffe War Hospital in Sheffield. Here his right leg was amputated. William’s war had lasted 16 months. In February William was transferred to the 2nd Auxillary Hospital and was repatriated home to Australia in July 1917. He received an artificial leg which he signed off on in August 1917 at the No. 8 Australian General Hospital at Fremantle. Post war, William met and married Linet Ruby (Marjory) Ellwood in 1921 and their family grew to include two children. At some time William trained to be a school teacher and we next find him in Arrino near Three Springs, from 1938-1941 as the schools’ only teacher. He received an annual salary of 271 pounds minus 12 pounds for rent. William passed away July 15 1957 in Perth and in 1967 Marjory was living at Carlisle in Perth. 1914/15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal