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Boer War - Sergeant William Frederick Spencer: Distinguished Conduct Medal, Mentioned in Despatches

 

William was the son of William SPENCER & Mary Ann HENSTRIDGE and was born on the 29th of August 1874 in Nairne, SA.

His parents were married on the 6th of October 1859 in Blakiston, SA.

His father was the son of Joseph SPENCER & Elizabeth Phillips SHEPHERD and was born on the 3rd of November 1841 in Glen Osmond, SA.
His mother was the daughter of Frederick HENSTRIDGE & Harriet FORD and was born on the 29th of July 1839 in South Newton, Wiltshire, England.

William was the eighth child born into the family of 11 children.

His father was a carpenter.

William attended the Nairne Public School and became a blacksmith and by 1890 the family had moved to Blinman.

He spent his early life in the far north of South Australia in the Blinman and Parachilna areas.

At the age of 26, William enlisted into the 4th South Australian Bushmen’s Contingent in March 1900 and allotted the Regimental Number 134 and posted to B Squadron.

The contingent was commanded by Colonel Rowell and consisted of 12 officers and 222 other ranks and 240 horses.

He embarked from Port Adelaide on May 1st 1900 on board the transport ship Manhattan, calling at Fremantle to embark the Fourth Western Australians, then disembarking in Durban in early June.

In November William became very ill with fever and was admitted into the Balmoral Hospital with Malaria. He spent 7 weeks in hospital before rejoining his contingent.

He returned to East London, where he embarked on the Britannic to return to Australia on the 5th of July 1901.
He disembarked in Adelaide on the 27th of July 1901 but as there was an outbreak of measles on board no members of the public were allowed on board and the troops were conveyed to the cold and uninviting Torrens Island.
The 4th Contingent was disbanded shortly afterwards.

William married Lillian PACKER on the 9th of October 1901 in Christ Church, North Adelaide.
Lillian was the daughter of Nathaniel PACKER & Julia Alice WHITE and was born on the 24th of July 1879 in York, SA.
They made their first home at Highbury.

With the formation of the 8th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse the following year, William re enlisted on the 24th of February 1902 and posted to “A” Squadron as a Lieutenant.
His brother Francis also enlisted into the same Battalion and was posted to A Squadron, with William.

The Battalion comprised of 13 officers, 232 other ranks and 250 horses and embarked from Pt Adelaide on board the transport ship St. Andrew on the 26th of May 1902 and arrived in Durban on the 19th of June.

Whilst they were on the voyage the Boer forces surrendered on the 31st of May, so upon arrival the left wing of the Battalion proceeded to Newcastle under the command of Major Osborne and the right wing remained in Durban.
William received at £100 bonus as well as his pay for the “cruise”.
The Battalion was only in South Africa for 12 days before embarking at Durban on the 1st of July on board the transport ship Manchester Merchant, disembarking in Adelaide on the 24th of July.
The South Australian Squadrons were disbanded on the 9th of August 1902.

They welcomed their first child; Linda Lillian, on the 29th of December 1902 in Parkside.

On the 25th of March 1903, the Governor-General (Lord Tennyson), who has spent the summer months at Marble Hill, was leaving for Melbourne by the Overland Express in the afternoon. He was escorted by a detachment of the Mounted Rifles and arrived at the station shortly after 4 o'clock where a guard of honour of infantry was drawn up. Lord Tennyson presented the Distinguished Service Medals awarded for service in Africa to William and Pte. BROWNE.

Addressing William his Excellency said:
"The deed for which the medal for distinguished conduct in the field is conferred on Lieutenant Spencer was as follows:
On the march of General Paget's column between Lindley and Bethlehem, during an action with De Wet outside Lindley's July, 1900, the guns of the 38th Battery were captured by the enemy. At that time the B Squadron South Australians of the Imperial Bushmen were under cover of a ridge some few hundred yards away.
When the request by an artillery officer to save the guns was made, the order was given to B Squadron to advance. Sergeant Spencer was the first man to reach the guns, which he did under a very heavy fire from the enemy. The guns were saved."

Lord Tennyson then pinned the medal on the officer's tunic, and shook him by the hand.

William and Lillian then welcomed Frederick William Nathaniel into the family, on the 14th of June 1906 in Edwardstown, followed by Una Wealthy on the 26th of January 1910.

They then moved to 8 Partridge Street, Glenelg and William gained employment as a Foreman Carrier (Traffic Manager) with J Haines & Coy in Adelaide,

At the age of 40, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 28th of September 1914 in Adelaide and posted to the newly formed 11th Australian Service Corps (ASC), 1st Australian Depot Unit of Supply, at Morphettville Camp, as officer in command, with the rank of Lieutenant.

On the 22nd of November they entrained from Morphettville for Melbourne and marched into Broadmeadows Camp.

William embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A35 Berrima on the 22nd of December 1914 and whilst on board he carried out the duties of ship Quartermaster.
They disembarked in Alexandria on the 2nd of February.

William served at Gallipoli, Egypt and France before embarking from London on the 28th of February 1919 on board HT Anchises, disembarking in Adelaide on the 13th of April 1919.

William was discharged from the AIF, due to Cessation of Hostilities, on the 12th of June 1919 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals.

They then moved to 12 Miller Street, North Unley and William leased and tried his hand as a grocer and storekeeping for 18 months.
Whilst they were here he received his Mention in Despatches (MID) Certificate.

On the 1st of September 1921 William successfully obtained a Soldier Settlement Block at Mt Schank. Section 751, Hundred of MacDonnell comprised of 215 acres and was situated about 5 miles from the Mount Schank Milk Factory.
William built a 2 roomed cottage, washhouse and milking shed on the land and became a dairy farmer.

He became the chairman of the Mt Schank sports committee and was the chairman and secretary of the Mt Schank Agricultural Bureau.

In 1933 William purchased Section 730, Hundred of MacDonnell, comprising 138 acres.

When Hitler invaded Poland, William volunteered again, but this time his was told to “Stick to your farm”.

Their daughters lived at 18 East Terrace, Kensington and when Lillian became ill in 1940 she moved to Adelaide and lived with them.

Lillian died on the 6th of March 1942 in a private hospital in Adelaide and William buried her in the St George’s Cemetery, Magill; Section D, Row 9B, Plot 28.

William retired after Lillian’s death and transferred the farm at Mt Schank to their son and moved in with his daughters at 18 East Terrace, Kensington.

By 1947 he had moved to 50a Cheltenham St, Malvern and gained employment as a commissionaire at Wests Theatre, Hindley Street and was once again in uniform.
After 6 years he took another job as a commissionaire at the Metro on the opposite side of the street.

He later remarried to Dorothy and they moved to 17 Colliver Street, Norwood.

William died on Sunday the 5th of August 1962 at his home, 17 Colliver Street, Norwood and was buried in the St George’s Cemetery, Magill three days later, with his first wife; Section D, Row 9B, Plot 28.
As of 21.05.2024 his grave is unmarked.

Military

Boer War

At the age of 26, William enlisted into the 4th South Australian Bushmen’s Contingent in March 1900 and allotted the Regimental Number 134 and posted to B Squadron.

The contingent was commanded by Colonel Rowell and consisted of 12 officers and 222 other ranks and 240 horses.

They marched through the streets of Adelaide on the 30th of April and the following day they embarked from Port Adelaide on May 1st 1900 on board the transport ship Manhattan, calling at Fremantle to embark the Fourth Western Australians.
The Manhattan was the largest vessel that had ever entered the Port River and navigated to the wharf up to this time.

The malarial seaport of Beira was reached on the 28th of May and after remaining at Beira anchorage for about a week waiting for orders, the troopship
Manhattan was headed down the coast for Durban (or Port Natal). The expected instructions as to the movements of the brigade did not reach Colonel Rowell till four days had elapsed and then the landing place was given as Durban.

They camped on the racecourse, but on the evening of the second day the Imperial authorities directed the brigade to board the troopship again. The uncertainty as to their ultimate destination was not productive of even tempers and by now the officers and men were simply spoiling for a fight.

At 4.30 pm on the third day all the troops save one man were safely on board the transport and bound for Port Elizabeth.
The execution of the move was done by the bright young lad, H. E. Prosser, who was accidentally killed by being run over by a wagon the day before they left Durban.
His comrades erected a monument to his memory before they departed.
On June 18th Port Elizabeth was reached and they disembarked the following day.
The inhabitants were delighted at the appearance of the Australians, whom they feasted and feted on the evening of their arrival. The great activity of the Boers up the line caused the Imperial officers to hurry the men inland on the following day, Kroonstadt being their destination.

After travelling day and night Kroonstadt was reached on June 23rd and “A” Squadron was at once sent out as an advance guard to a convoy bound for Lindley. The remainder of the troops, including William, followed at 6 am on the Sunday, acting as a rearguard force to a City Imperial Volunteer (CIV) Battery.

On June 26th the men who had been itching for a chance to distinguish themselves in a real engagement, received their “Baptism of Fire”.
The Boers were snugly posted in a kopje and the CIV guns vigorously shelled the position. The enemy's endurance was not equal to such a peppering and as they showed signs of wavering in their resistance the Bushmen were given permission to charge with the bayonet.
The sight of cold steel was too much for the Boers, who fled precipitately. For several successive days the troops were actively combating the Boers and in the process they earned a sound reputation for heroic conduct.
The British General thought highly of them and their position was in the van of fighting, more frequently than in subordinate stations.
While performing rearguard duty, soon after their first brush with the Boers, three of the men, Troopers Scott, Hawkesby, and Read, were captured by the enemy.

The contingent left Lindley on July 2nd and proceeded to Bethlehem under General Paget and took part in several skirmishes near that place. While all the troopers behaved themselves as true Britons, several of the soldiers were conspicuously brave,
Lieutenant E. A. Roberts M.P., deserves special mention in this connection and also Trooper W. S. Sayer, who rescued whilst under heavy fire, Trooper E. W. Hasketh-Jones, whose horse had fallen with him and produced a broken collarbone.

During action on July 3rd a number of the troops, by their heroic conduct, won the admiration of the British generals and of their comrades. Their names being Major
Norton, Lieutenant Leane, Lieutenant Thorn, Sergeant Spencer, Corporals Catchlove and Allnutt, Troopers Mayfield, Gardiner, Magor, Ayliffe, Plate, Haydon, Lemon, Short, and Stott.
The guns belonging to the 38th Battery had been captured and the whole of the artillery officers had been shot down, with the few men unhurt being in imminent peril of their lives.

The Boers had crept up to the field pieces disguised as Yeomanry scouts and managed to get within 30 yards of the guns when they opened fire and the escort at the time lost control of their horses and could not ward off the rush of the enemy, who thus had the artillerists at their mercy.
The Boers then captured the guns and then it was at this critical juncture that the South Australians were to appear.

At that time William, with B Squadron, were under cover of a ridge some few hundred yards away and a corporal, the only senior artilleryman left, rushed over to the South Australians with the pathetic appeal, “Come and save my guns”.

The order was then given to B Squadron to advance and William was the first man to reach the guns, which he did under a very heavy fire from the enemy.

The South Australian’s mentioned were foremost in effecting the recapture and the nation had cause to mourn the loss of the brave artillerymen, who maintained the defence against tremendous odds.
The casualties amongst the contingent were comparatively slight, Trooper Richardson was hit in the leg by a shell, Trooper Wagstaff’s arm was shattered and Trooper Hall was wounded by a ricocheting bullet. The missile which temporarily incapacitated Trooper Richardson just missed finding a berth in Major Norton, and other equally narrow escapes were recorded.

The Boers were led in this action by Generals Christian De Wet and Prinsloo.

For their actions, the members of the 4th Contingent were awarded the Wittenberg clasp and William was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM).

On July 15th the contingent finally left Bethlehem and was joined the following day by the Household Cavalry, the Lancers and the Hussars, under General Broadwood.
On the following day the British and Boers fought an artillery duel and the activity of the enemy was met by equal determination on the part of the British. All the mounted men in the district were mobilised and sent after the elusive ‘De Wet”.

General Prinsloo essayed to double back on the British, but General Hunter was alert and bagged the tricky Boer general and his entire force.
The much-longed-for prize was then De Wet and although he was said to be within an ever-tightening cordon, the British forces woke up one morning to find that they had been neatly foiled. De Wet had slipped out of danger and he still defied the power of the British to capture him.

On July 19th a big engagement was fought and Major Moore, of the West Australian Contingent, was killed in this action and Sergeant Prosser was severely wounded whilst going on outpost.

De Wet about this period captured a train which contained supplies for the contingent and other troops at Kopje Siding. After this escapade he was followed up more assiduously than ever and at Vredeford he was forced to turn and fight. A big action was fought and during its continuance the Fourth Contingent lost Troopers Moore, Nicholas, and Tothill killed, while Troopers Catchlove, Thorn, and Tate were injured.

The Contingent fought gamely and Sergeant Caruthers, Corporal Allnutt and Trooper Ayliffe were conspicuously heroic. The Boer fire was directed from 400 yards range at times and it was in this action that Captain Howie, of the New South Wales Ambulance Corps, won his Victoria Cross.
Trooper Mayfield, seeing a British, private carrying a wounded officer out of the fire zone, galloped out and brought the officer in. The fighting was of a fierce character, and the British found it necessary to order even the details from the various corps, who were engaged with the wagons of the convoy, into the firing line.
William and the Australian soldiers exhibited splendid courage throughout the trying time and at the close of the day Generals Broadwood and Ridley entered the following encomium in the order book:—
Both General Broadwood and General Ridley have decided that their appreciation of the excellent work done today by the corps should be made known to the men. The capture of five of the enemy's wagons, and 18 prisoners, and the consequent orderly retirement under heavy fire is considered by both generals to be praiseworthy.
They are grieved to hear of the casualties; the officers and 29 non-coms, and men.

Lord Kitchener then came down from Pretoria to personally direct the operations against De Wet, who had outwitted all the Generals on the British side.
Between 30,000 and 40,000 British troops were mustered to effect the great Boer leaders capture, but on August 9th it was definitely known, that he had escaped with his followers, yet again.

The Vaal River was then crossed and by forced marches, which frequently lasted from daylight till 12.30 am and sometimes right through the night, the contingent next pushed round the Elands River, where Colonel Hoare and a small body of Australians were besieged by De La Rey and a strong force of Boers.
The Australians had been often asked to surrender by De La Rey, but they stoutly refused and dared the Boers to take them.

The enemy fired 7,000 shells into the camp, of which 1,700 were thrown in one day. Scores of horsemen were ripped to death by the flying particles of the missiles and when the casualties were counted up 17 of the Australians were dead and 70 wounded.
On the approach of the relieving force the Boers cleared off.

The contingent left Elands River on June 18th and made for Rustenburg to meet Methuen's column, with which were the South Australian Bushmen and the Third Contingent.
The next move was for the capital of the Transvaal, Pretoria and their entry being made here on August 23rd.
Some of the troops were soon afterwards sent to chase a body of retreating Boers, but they returned about a week later, having failed to catch up with the enemy.

From Pretoria the 4th Contingent frequently moved out on scouting and reconnoitring expeditions and on September 12th, Colonel Rowell and his command were ordered to escort a cattle convoy in the direction of Belfast.
By easy stages the Delagoa Bay railway was followed until Machadodorp was reached and here the troops, in conjunction with others, formed the garrison of the town and did outpost and patrol duty until October 22nd, when they entrained for Pretoria.

Lord Roberts reviewed some of the British troops here on October 25th and the contingent had the honor of marching past the Commander-in-Chief.
Various expeditions filled up a lot of time during the ensuring months and on one of these the contingent proceeded to the Magliesburg Ranges and performed their scouting work so admirably that congratulations were forwarded to them from headquarters.
With New Zealanders they formed the escort for a cattle convoy on the 30th of October to Rustenburgand and on this trip they endured 36 hours of continuous rain.
The trek oxen suffered heavily on this trip, which lasted until the 9th of November.
Six hundred bullocks were lost, three hundred of which fell by the wayside in one day.

On their return to Pretoria they were sent out under Generals Paget and Plumer and at Rhenoster Kop severe fighting took place and over 100 casualties resulted on the British side.
The South Australians lost Serjeant McCabe and Trooper Page, killed; while Troopers Johnston and Mayfield were wounded. The last named was hit within an eighth of an inch of his spine.
The troops next scouted around Pienars River and in the country to the north of Pretoria, eventually advancing to Pietersburg.
This trip was made over country never before traversed by British troops.

It was here at the end of November that William became very ill with fever and was admitted into the Balmoral Hospital with Malaria. He spent 7 weeks in hospital before rejoining his contingent.

In February 1901 they sustained several casualties, including William, in Cape Colony during the pursuit of De Wet and then in March, April and May they distinguished themselves in operations between Pretoria and Pietersburg.
During May they suffered casualties on various occasions in the Eastern Transvaal.

Their next move was to Standerton, on the Natal border. This last trip was exceedingly wearisome and the troops were not sorry when they received orders to return to East London, where they were to embark on the Britannic to return to Australia on the 5th of July 1901.

They disembarked in Adelaide on the 27th of July 1901 but as there was an outbreak of measles on board no members of the public were allowed on board and the troops were conveyed to the cold and uninviting Torrens Island.

In August, the members of the 4th Contingent present Mr H.C Wache, the head keeper of the Quarantine Station, an inscribed Waltham watch, in recognition of his efforts to promote their comfort while they were on the island.
The 4th Contingent was disbanded shortly afterwards.

With the formation of the 8th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse the following year, William re enlisted on the 24th of February 1902 and posted to “A” Squadron as a Lieutenant.
The Battalion comprised of 13 officers, 232 other ranks and 250 horses and embarked from Pt Adelaide on board the transport ship St. Andrew on the 26th of May 1902 and arrived in Durban on the 19th of June.

Whilst they were on the voyage the Boer forces surrendered on the 31st of May, so upon arrival the left wing of the Battalion proceeded to Newcastle under the command of Major Osborne and the right wing remained in Durban.
William received at £100 bonus as well as his pay for the “cruise”.

The Battalion was only in South Africa for 12 days before embarking at Durban on the 1st of July on board the transport ship Manchester Merchant, disembarking in Adelaide on the 24th of July.
The South Australian Squadrons were disbanded on the 9th of August.

WW1

At the age of 40, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 28th of September 1914 in Adelaide and posted to the newly formed 11th Australian Service Corps (ASC), 1st Australian Depot Unit of Supply, at Morphettville Camp, as officer in command, with the rank of Lieutenant.
He listed his wife, Lillian, of 8 Partridge Street, Glenelg, as his next of kin.

They were trained at Morphettville until the 14th of November when they were shifted to their new camp at Ascot Park.
On the 22nd of November they marched out of Ascot Park Camp and entrained from Morphettville for Melbourne and marched into Broadmeadows Camp.

William embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A35 Berrima on the 22nd of December 1914 and whilst on board he carried out the duties of ship Quartermaster.
They disembarked in Alexandria on the 2nd of February and entrained to Cairo and camped at Abbassia, where they took over the Abbassia Supply Depot.

On the 17th of March they entrained at Cairo and moved back to Alexandria and into Gabbari Camp. For all of March William was engaged in checking and supervising the victualling of Transport & Supply Ships lying at Alexandria.

On the 4th of April the Unit received their embarkation orders and the following day they embarked on board HMT Derfflinger for Lemnos Island, anchoring at 10.30am on the 8th.
On board the HMT Derfflinger with them was the 3rd Battalion and for the next sixteen they practiced boat drills, disembarking at Mudros Village and then re embarking on HMT Derfflinger.

On the 24th of April they weighed anchor at 6.15am and sailed for nearly five hours before anchoring. At 12.30am the following morning they sailed for the Peninsula of Gallipoli, arriving shortly after 4am in the face of heavy shelling from the Turkish Batteries.
The 3rd Battalion disembarked at 5.30am and then William and his Unit took ashore the first barge load of supplies under enemy fire. They then put back to Imbros on HMT Derfflinger.

The following day they made for the Peninsula again and disembarked. The following day they were landing equipment and supplies on the beach, stacking them and taking water to the troops on mule transport.
This was dangerous work and several casualties were inflicted to guides and mules by the Turkish snipers.
They continued this work for all of May and June, with most of the work being done at night due to the enemy shell fire.
On the 1st of July the Unit was transferred to the SS Clan Macrae at Imbros and they were engaged in discharging her cargo of frozen meat and general stores into Lighters for transport to Gallipoli.

On the 15th of July the SS Clan Macrae was a mile off of the Peninsula and was fired on by Turkish land batteries, with several shells striking the ship and causing a fire on board.
Almost simultaneously the commander of one of HM Destroyer’s reported the proximity of an enemy submarine and ordered the SS Clan Macrae and William’s Unit to make for Imbros with all possible speed. The partially laden Lighters were immediately set adrift and they reached Imbros without further incident.

On the 3rd of August the Unit was ordered back to Gallipoli and the following morning they landed back on the beach, only to be bombed on by an enemy airman.
On the 1st of September they were transported to North Beach, in the Walker’s Ridge sector, where they laid out and established the Camp Reserve Supply Depot.
On the completion of William’s Pier a light railway was then laid to the Depot and supplies were railed straight from the Lighters at the pier.

They remained here until the 13th of December when they embarked from Gallipoli on board a motor Lighter and then transferred to the SS Reindeer and sailed for Lemnos Island.

William was Mentioned in Despatches for the excellent work in connection with supplies obtained under difficult circumstances during the Gallipoli landing on the 25th of April.

On Christmas Day 1915 William was transferred to the 1st Field Bakery, 13th Army Service Corps (ASC), as the officer in command at Mudros.

William then disembarked in Alexandria from Mudros on board HT Tunisian on the 2nd of January 1916 and marched into Tel-el-Kebir Camp.
He was then transferred to the 29th ASC on the 29th of February and promoted to Captain the following day.
On the 13th of May William was transferred to command the 18th AASC, 5th Division Train in Moascar.
William embarked from Alexandria on the 16th of June on board HT Tunisian, disembarking in Marseilles on the 23rd.

On the 11th of July 1916 William was Mention in Despatches for Conspicuous Service.

On the 9th of May 1917 he was transferred to the newly formed 31st Coy ASC, 6th Division Train and proceeded to England and marched into the AASC Training Depot at Parkhouse. He was then transferred to the 1st Coy ASC at Windmill Hill Camp and then back to the AASC Training Depot at Parkhouse on the 4th of September.

On the 4th of November he was detached to “H” Canton Central Purchase Board and proceeded back to France.
On the 17th of January 1919 he embarked for England, for return to Australia, and marched into No.4 Camp in Sutton Veny.

William embarked from London on the 28th of February 1919 on board HT Anchises, disembarking in Adelaide on the 13th of April 1919.

William was discharged from the AIF, due to Cessation of Hostilities, on the 12th of June 1919 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War and Victory Medals and MID.