Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

“The big ships stood out from the shore and then men silently climbed into the boats which took them shorewards, and in many cases, death. There were terrible incidents which followed. Men who never caught a glimpse of their enemy shot down in the water; others who made little ground and commenced feverish trench digging under an incessant fire; others who scaled the heights of Gallipoli to come to hand-to-hand grips with the enemy. A victory was won that day, for the Australian nation, and so long as the word "Anzac" is known, Australia will be honoured and her sons remembered.” These were the words spoken by WW1 returned serviceman William Edwin Donoghue at an ANZAC dinner in Mt Barker on 22 April 1937.

Even though William did not experience this horror firsthand, it gives us an idea of what war is like; more specifically, the devastating events that happened at Gallipoli. William had a “unique” experience compared to most of the soldiers. Even though this experience was unlucky, he continued to show ANZAC spirit no matter what got in his way.

On 8 September 1880, William was born near Nairne. He then grew up in Mt Barker with his parents, John and Elizabeth, and his three brothers and sisters. He was the 3rd youngest out of seven children.

Later in life, William married a lovely lady named Eva Lucus, in Moonta. Eva and William both moved to Moonta, where Eva had previously lived. They had two daughters named Wilhelmina and Hazel who were both born in Moonta.

William worked with horses from a young age and became an important part of his life. He even got kicked by one and fractured his ankle badly when he was eighteen. He later became a farrier and a farmer. He bought a blacksmith business in Mt Barker and moved to Mt Barker in the same month. At the time of enlisting William reported his occupation as a mechanic and farrier.

Back when William was in Moonta, he ran for the position of a councilman in West Ward in his local council. Unfortunately, he lost by 14 votes. He was also promoted to lieutenant in April 1914 in the Citizens Forces. His interest in local government and wanting to further his career in the citizen’s forces shows that he wanted to develop his leadership skills which would have helped him when the war begun. This would have also helped him recruit soldiers when they were urgently needed.

During the war, William did not sign up immediately as soldiers would have, instead he worked as a recruiting officer in December 1916. A month later he went on a recruiting campaign in Broken Hill when recruits were urgently needed. He formed a close bond with these men, and showing true ANZAC mateship he asked the military authorities if he could accompany the recruits he obtained to the Western Front. The military authorities promised a spot for him on the Western Front but broke their promise. After months of waiting to be sent to the war, William decided to sign up as a private. “The military authorities have not kept their promise to send me to the front, but I am determined to go, and am enlisting as a private.” William said on November 1917 at a Cheer-Up Society gathering. This also shows more of his ANZAC spirit as he was determined to go to war and fight for his country. He, a lieutenant, became a humble private. In the end rank didn’t matter to him, this was another true show of Williams great ANZAC spirit.

After traveling to Melbourne, then to South Hampton, England by sea on the Ormonde, He did months of training at the Candahar Barracks. After training, he arrived in France on 26 October 1918, and joined what was left of the soldiers in the 43rd Battalion on 2 November. At this point the number of officers had decreased from 42 to 37, and the number of other ranks decreased from 855 to 420. The battalion had operated in 11 attacks, spent 40 days in the front line, 42 days in support and 109 days in reserve. Although they weren’t fighting when William joined, the Battalion did parades, sports and training to keep up their skills while resting the men, ready for more battle.

After only seven days of being with his Battalion, William had some rather unfortunate luck. There were major outbreaks of influenza throughout Europe and many soldiers caught it during the war. William was one of these unlucky soldiers. He was taken to the 2nd Australian General Hospital with influenza, or more commonly known as the Spanish flu. Some of the symptoms William was likely to have experienced were fever, nausea, aches, diarrhea, pneumonia and suffocating due to fluid in lungs. More people died from the flu than those affected by World War one. Two days after being sent to hospital, the war ended. After peace was declared, his Battalion kept practicing their rifle training completely unaware that the war had finished. It wasn’t until the next day when they received the newspaper that they realised that the “Great War” had finally ended.  

The battle in France lasted 1566 days and killed around 1,400,000 soldiers. One in twenty of France’s population was killed in the battle. During the battle, most of the men were feeling war weariness and homesickness, some were feeling disappointed. The conditions in France were terrible, from muddy conditions to cold winter conditions. The Trench Comfort Society helped the soldiers feel comfortable during the war, fundraising in Adelaide to send over useful items such as socks, cigarettes, coffee and soap.

After the war, soldiers had to wait months until they could finally be sent home. While waiting, it came time to celebrate Christmas. William and his Battalion were given a Christmas dinner by the Trench Comfort Society who prepared the meal that could be compared to a meal at a fancy London hotel. The sergeants and officers acted as waiters, showing mateship towards the other soldiers.

When William finally returned home on 5 October 1919, he went back to Mt Barker. He returned to his wife who had been the president of the Cheer-Up Society throwing gatherings with much dancing, food and live music. William continued to be involved with the RSL and the army, and showing true ANZAC spirit, he re-enlisted a month after World War two broke out when he was sixty years of age.  

On 17 June 1966, William sadly passed away from natural causes. He was cremated at Centennial Park.

The ANZAC spirit is described as endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour and mateship. William Edwin Donoghue demonstrated these through standing by his recruits, humbling himself by enlisting as a private and continuing to involve himself with the army.

Lest we forget. Especially those who lost their lives for our Country.

The Diggers' gazette : official organ of the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia (South Australian Branch)Vol. 1, no. 22 (1st October, 1920)

[1]The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser (SA : 1880 - 1954)  Thu 22 Apr 1937  Page 2

[1] The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser (SA : 1880 - 1954)  Fri 24 Jun 1898  Page 3

[1] Yorke's Peninsula Advertiser (SA : 1878 - 1922)  Fri 8 Dec 1911  Page 3

[1] The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931)  Wed 14 May 1913  Page 14

[1]The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931)  Tue 23 Jan 1917  Page 7

[1] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F. / narrative and compilation by E.J. Colliver and B.H. Richardson; foreword by Jas. H. Cannan (Page 122)

[1] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F. / narrative and compilation by E.J. Colliver and B.H. Richardson; foreword by Jas. H. Cannan (Page 158)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4946718

[1] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F. (Page 123)

[1] http://www.france-pub.com/world-war-1.php

[1] https://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/1918/battles/warweary/

[1] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F.(Page 241)

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3514642

[1]The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser (SA : 1880 - 1954)  Thu 22 Apr 1937  Page 2

 
[2] The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser (SA : 1880 - 1954)  Fri 24 Jun 1898  Page 3
[3] Yorke's Peninsula Advertiser (SA : 1878 - 1922)  Fri 8 Dec 1911  Page 3
[4] The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931)  Wed 14 May 1913  Page 14
[5]The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931)  Tue 23 Jan 1917  Page 7

 
[6] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F. / narrative and compilation by E.J. Colliver and B.H. Richardson; foreword by Jas. H. Cannan (Page 122)

 
[7] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F. / narrative and compilation by E.J. Colliver and B.H. Richardson; foreword by Jas. H. Cannan (Page 158)

 
[8] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4946718

 
[9] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F. (Page 123)

 
[10] http://www.france-pub.com/world-war-1.php

[11] https://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/1918/battles/warweary/
[12] The Forty-Third : the story and official history of the 43rd Battalion, A.I.F.(Page 241)