BADENOCH, William Henry
| Service Number: | 860 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 February 1916, Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port MacDonnell, South Australia, 29 May 1898 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gambier, Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Mount Gambier Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Bakers assistant |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Mont St Quentin, France, 1 September 1918, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension Plot 23, Row K and panel 136 at the AWM |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mount Gambier Court Marian No 3316 AOF Roll of Honour, Mount Gambier Knight & Cleve Pictorial Honour Rolls, Mount Gambier St Andrew's Presbyterian Church Roll of Honor, Mount Gambier War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 860, Mount Gambier, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 860, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 860, 43rd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 11 Jun 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 860, 43rd Infantry Battalion, Battle of Messines, GSW (Elbow) | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 860, 43rd Infantry Battalion, Le Hamel - Blueprint for Victory | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 860, 43rd Infantry Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days" | |
| 1 Sep 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 860, 43rd Infantry Battalion, Mont St Quentin / Peronne |
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Described on enlisting as 18 years 7 months old; single; 5' 7 1/2" tall; 144 lbs;
fresh complextion; brown eyes; dark hair; Presbyterian
Father Ebenezer Badenoch and Mother Mr Rose Elizabeth Badenoch, Mt Gambier, SA.
Three sisters: Dorothy Jean Badenoch; Marjory Olive Badenoch; Hilda Roe Badenoch.
Previous service: Military Cadets
8/2/1916 Enlisted in Mt Gambier
8/2/1916 Completed medical - fit for service
9/3/1916 Commanding Officer appointed William to
43rd Infantry Brigade D Company
Morphettville Camp
9/6/1915 Embarked from Outer Harbour SA on 'HMAT Afric A19'
20/7/1916 Disembarked into England
25/11/1916 Proceeded overseas to France, from Southampton, England
10/6/1917 Wounded in action, France
11/6/1917 To Casual Clearing Station
22/6/1917 Embarked for England, per 'HS Jan Breydal'
Gunshot wound to arm, back and nose
Admitted to Queens Canadian Military Hospital
Beechborough Park,
4/8/1917 Shell wound - Gunshot wound t right elbow
at No.2 Australian Command Depot Medical Centre, Weymouth
9/10/1917 Proceeded overseas to France, ex Parkham Downs
Training Brigade
23/10/1917 Rejoined 43rd Brigade
17/2/1918 on leave to England
7/3/1918 Rejoined 43rd Brigade in France from leave
1/9/1918 Killed in action, near Mont St Quentin, France
buried 700 yards, north of alliances
Exhumed and reburied in Perronne Communal Cemetery Extension
Peronne, Picardie, France
Plot III, Row L, Grave 4
Medals:
Star 1914/15; British War medal (40557); Victory medal (40144);
Memorial Plaque and Memorial Scroll (350940).
Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan. 14 September 2014. Lest we forget.
Biography contributed by Ian Cusack
William Henry Badenoch a young man from country South Australia and was the third child of Ebenezer and Rose, both of whom were children of pioneer families. William Henry's Grandfather was a successful business man who traded and sold produce either grown locally or imported. This business was subsequently run by his parents and evolved into a store with a groceries, butcher shop and bakery.
William having grown up within the busy household where he and his siblings worked in the enterprise, took a liking to baking and consequently assisted his father as a baker's assistant. He also was a member of the Junior Lodge of the Oddfellows.
William had six siblings an older brother and sister, James Ebenezer and Dorothy Jean (Watson) and three younger, Marjorie Olive, Archibald Montgomery, Vernon (Bernard) Thomas and Hilda Rose (Smith).
William was under 18 when he initially enlisted at Mount Gambier, South Australia in February of 1916. He was posted overseas in June of 1916, sailing direct to England where he undertook further training before being posted to join the 43rd Battallion in France and subsequently to the front. Here in the Battle of Messines he was badly wounded and was repatriated to England for treatment. Recovered from his wounds he returned to his Battallion. He was again involved in heavy fighting until ultimately giving his life near Mont St. Quentin on the 1st of September 1918, he was 20 years old.
William was ultimately (having been exhumed from his original burial site located 700 yards North from the Alliances) buried at the Personne Communal Cemetery Extension, on the Rue des Plantanes, Peronne, France.
Sadly for the family William's younger sister was to pass away in January 1919 of the Spanish Flu. His younger brother Archibald, who became a prominant policeman in South Australia, enlisted in the Army in WW2 and was killed at El Alamein in November 1918.
William was sorely missed by his family as "The In Memoriam" notices in the local newspaper of subsequent years were sad testimony to the death of their son and brother. Taken from them far to soon, a recurring wish of the family was that they fervently hoped that a stranger would place a flower at his gravesite.
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