BYRNS, William Henry Loftus
| Service Number: | 1777 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Penrith, Penrith Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 August 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Springwood District Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 1777, 18th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kanowna embarkation_ship_number: A61 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 1777, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kanowna, Sydney | |
| 4 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 1777, 13th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1777 awm_unit: 13 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-04 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
William Henry Loftus BYRNS, (Service Number 1777) was born on 3 July 1880 at Bingara and was a relatively old 35 years at the time of his enlistment but was not married. He had been working as a fettler on the Railways since August 1913, in the Metropolitan area and on a deviation near Raglan. There is no formal record of him being granted leave to join the military.
He served at Gallipoli, receiving several wounds, including a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was evacuated to a hospital at Mudros. Having survived Gallipoli, he fought in France where he was killed in action on 4 August 1916 and has no known grave.
His file in the National Archives contains a letter from his sister Mrs J H Purcell, acknowledging the receipt of the memorial scroll issued by the British government.
‘We received the Scroll issued by His Majesty’s Government. Mrs Purcell received them as I am the only living relative alive now, as my mother (Mrs Best) died last June. She never seemed to get on in health since my brother was killed.’
(NAA B2455-3180037)
Submitted 13 May 2023 by John Oakes