MANN, William
| Service Number: | 2486 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mitcham, South Australia, Australia, 21 September 1894 |
| Home Town: | Home Hill, Burdekin, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Mouquet Farm, France, 3 September 1916, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Home Hill Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 3 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2486, 9th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Aug 1915: | Involvement Private, 2486, 9th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Aug 1915: | Embarked Private, 2486, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Sydney | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Involvement Sergeant, 2486, 49th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2486 awm_unit: 49th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1916-09-03 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
One of three brothers who enlisted in the AIF, William’s older brother Alec Mann was also killed in action in 1916, aged 24.
William was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of William and Fanny Mann. When he was about five years of age, in 1899, his father moved from Adelaide to far north Queensland for mining work. A year later, their mother travelled with her six youngest children, by sea, taking a long voyage from Adelaide to Cairns to reunite the family. From Cairns, Fanny and her children made the 220-kilometre overland journey west of Cairns to Mungana, a mining town where William would be raised.
William left school at an early age and travelled on horseback with his older brother Clifton to Port Douglas, where they worked as cane cutters.
In 1912, William Mann senior was granted land to start a sugar cane farm at Home Hill, on the Burdekin River to the south of Townsville. William returned from up north and worked on the family cane farm.
He enlisted in June 1915 and transferred to the 49th during the reorganisation of the AIF in Egypt during early 1916, and promoted to Sergeant.
William was killed during the last attempt by the Australians to capture Mouquet Farm. He was three weeks short of his 22nd birthday. First reported as wounded, one of his mates spent some considerable time after the battle to discover his fate but he could never find any definite information and in despair said he believed he had been blown beyond recognition. Several men stated he was struck in the chest and severely wounded by a piece of shrapnel and had to be left where he lay, in the open and under heavy shell fire.
As William Mann was first reported as wounded, William Mann senior wrote to authorities in February 1917 for news of his son’s whereabouts: “I think you should let me know, where he is or what has become of him, if he is wounded what hospital he is at. We are very anxious about him, you see it is four months now since he was reported wounded, and I have got word from the front that he is missing.”
It was almost 11 months after his death before the authorities confirmed he had been killed in action.
A younger brother, 2209 Private Gilbert Mann 48th Battalion AIF also served and returned to Australia during 1919.
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