HOOPER, William John
| Service Number: | 2665 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 July 1915, Enlisted in Bendigo |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Eaglehawk, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Eaglehawk School |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2665, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted in Bendigo | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2665, 23rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2665, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 26 Aug 1916: | Honoured Military Medal, Battle for Pozières , 'These soldiers [HOOPER, 502 F. BROWN, 2637 A.L. FOLEY, 2275 W. JACKSON] distinguished themselves by conspicuous gallantry and endurance as runners and guides throughout the POZIERES operations on 26th August 1916. They carried their messages without delay, regardless of the nature of the fire to be traversed, and by the shortest routes. Their work has been most valuable in maintaining communication between the Companies and Headquarters.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 62 Date: 19 April 1917 |
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William John HOOPER
Military Medal
'These soldiers [HOOPER, 502 F. BROWN, 2637 A.L. FOLEY, 2275 W. JACKSON] distinguished themselves by conspicuous gallantry and endurance as runners and guides throughout the POZIERES operations on 26th August 1916. They carried their messages without delay, regardless of the nature of the fire to be traversed, and by the shortest routes. Their work has been most valuable in maintaining communication between the Companies and Headquarters.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 62 Date: 19 April 1917
The Bendigoian printed the following Soldier’s letter on October 26, 1916. PRIVATE W. J. HOOPER. Mrs. Hooper, of Eaglehawk, is in receipt of the following letter from her son, Private W. J. Hooper, dated 19/8/l6: - "Just a line to let you know I am still in the land of the living. We are still 'somewhere in France. We have had a couple of days' rain and plenty of mud, I have met a very great number of the Eaglehawk boys over here. We have had a fairly, rough time marching. I have had the pleasure of being in two charges, and I did very well. I was stretcher bearing, and it's a job I am not in love with. I had the luck to get through without a scratch. My officer told me I had been mentioned for my work on the first night, but I was not looking forward to anything of that sort as long as I got out of it unhurt. I only did my bit like all the rest of the boys. We were successful in both charges. Jack Truesdale, 'Snowy' Wilson, Ted Taylor, Percy Howe and young Nancarrow are getting on pretty well so far. It's alright to meet them and talk over old times and the good old 'Hawk. All the boys have had very good luck since they have been in France’.[1]
This letter home by William was written just one week before he would be officially recommended for a bravery medal.
William Hooper’s three fellow stretcher bearers at Pozieres all from the 23rd Battalion would miraculously all return from the Great War.
(2637) Albert Foley from Sandringham, returned Oct 20, 1918.
(502) Frank Brown From Broadford, returned March 19, 1919.
(2275) William Jackson from Footscray returned Nov 11, 1919.
William Hooper was a miner and aged 24 when he enlisted in July 1915 as the Gallipoli campaign faltered on the Dardanelles Peninsula. He was assigned to the 23rd Battalion part of the 6th Brigade in the 2nd Division A.I.F.
William modesty is reflected in his letter home when he was recommended for his bravery as a stretcher-bearer at the horrific battles of Pozieres in Flanders fields.
SERVICE DETAILS:
Regimental Number: 2665 Place of birth: Bendigo Vic Religion: Church of England
Occupation: Miner
Address: Campbell Street, Eaglehawk, Victoria
Marital status: Single
Age at embarkation: 24
Next of kin: Mother, Mrs Elizabeth Hooper, Campbell Street, Eaglehawk
Enlistment date: 26 July 1915
Unit name: 23rd Battalion, 6th Reinforcement
Embarked: HMAT A38 Ulysses on 27 October 1915
Final Rank: Private
Fate: Returned to Australia 27 April 1919 HMAT Runic,
The Battle of POZIERES & operations on 26th August 1916.
The Pozieres and Mouqueut Farm battles This series of actions elicited the greatest quantum of Australian sacrifice of any single campaign in our military history. In five weeks of fighting in mid 1916, the Australian First, Second and Fourth Divisions sustained 23,000 casualties, 5,000 of whom were killed. Charles Bean's epitaph to the fallen is inscribed on a stone plinth at the site of the Windmill;
"The ruin of Pozieres Windmill which lies here was the centre of the struggle in this part of the Somme battlefield in July and August 1916. It was captured on August 4 by Australian troops who fell more thickly on this ridge than on any other battlefield of the war"[2]
[1] Bendigoian printed the following Soldier’s letter on October 26, 1916. Page 25
[2] Virtual War memorial Australia Website https://vwma.org.au/explore/campaigns/5
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