AHANG, William Clarence Way
| Service Number: | 1822 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Hundred of Way, Port Lincoln, SA, 12 January 1887 |
| Home Town: | Tumby Bay, Tumby Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Natural causes, Tumby Bay, SA, 23 March 1928, aged 41 years |
| Cemetery: |
Tumby Bay Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Tumby Bay RSL Portrait Memorials |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1822, 5th Pioneer Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 1822, 5th Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 1822, 5th Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Adelaide | |
| 6 Oct 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1822, 5th Pioneer Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days" | |
| 27 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1822, 5th Pioneer Battalion, RTA "Inderra" 3 Sep 1919 Discharged 4MD |
Help us honour William Clarence Way Ahang's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
Bill was born near Sheringa (Hundred of Way) on 1 Dec 1887 to Henry Ahang and Emma Ahang (nee Argoon) of Sheringa. He was one of 6 children, 2 boys and 4 girls. His father was a farm labourer.
He had very rudimentary schooling and went to work as a farm labourer in the Sheringa area. He remained working on farms in both the Sheringa and Tumby Bay districts until his enlistment in Feb 1916, at the age of 28 years.
On induction into the Army he was posted to the 2nd Depot Battalion before being transferred to 5th Pioneer Battalion. After a short period of training he embarked on 11 May 1916 bound for the UK and then the Western Front.
During his service he had a fairly rough time having been wounded twice. The first time he was gassed; the second time he was more severely wounded, receiving gunshot wounds to his right arm, back, neck and side on 6 Oct 1918. He was evacuated to 1st Southern General Hospital in UK, his wounds being classified as “severe”.
During his convalescence he met Christina Mortlock and later married her at Earl’s Court in London (UK) on 9 Dec 1918. They had 2 children, both boys.
He continued his convalescence in UK until 27 Jul 1919, when he and his wife were embarked on the “INDARRA” for return to Australia, arriving on 3 Sep 1919.
After his return to Australia he took his discharge from the Army on 27 Oct 1919 and he and is wife made their way back to Tumby Bay where they stayed with his aunt, Margaret Ahang (possibly Louisa Margaret Caroline Ahang, also known as Sophia Ahang), for a short time before moving to Port Neill.
He was allocated a “soldier settler” block at Carrow, near Port Neill. An unusual story of the conditions that faced the “new” British bride was when she spent the whole day scrubbing the floor in their farm-house trying to find the lino through all the dirt. When Bill came home, he explained to her that their house had a dirt floor. She had never been exposed to this type of thing in the UK!
Unfortunately, Bill suffered poor health as a result of the injuries he received during the war. He died on 23 Mar 1928 at the age of 40 and is buried in the Tumby Bay Cemetery.
After his death his wife and family moved to Alberton in Adelaide. His wife died on 28 Dec 80 after being hit by a drunk driver on Christmas day of that year.
Compiled by Geoff Stewart - RSL Tumby Bay
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