Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Willie Thomson Hillam was a soldier who fought in World War One. During the war, he was ranked Private and later, became a Driver. He was born at Culdaburra Homestead in South Australia on the 15th of August 1885, just north of Port Germein (located on Hillam Road). Hillam attended the local primary school at Mambray Creek. Prior to the war he worked as a Farmer. Two of Hillam’s brothers, Archie Phillis Hillam and George Priestly Hillam also fought in the war. Archie returned to Australia at the end of the war, but George died in 1917.
 
Hillam enlisted on the 10th of March 1916, at the age of 30 and 7 months in Adelaide. He embarked on the 9th of June 1916 on the HMAT Afric, which is the same ship that most of the 43rd Battalion went on. He disembarked at Marseilles in France on the 20th of July 1916 and proceeded to England for training.
 
On the 9th of December 1916, Hillam was admitted to hospital with the Mumps. There was an outbreak of Mumps in the 43rd Battalion a few months prior. On the 25th of November 1916, the 43rd Battalion travelled to France to fight at the front. Later, on the 1st of January 1917, he re-joined the 43rd Battalion. After looking at the dates of each of the battles, we can see that he did not miss out on any important events because of the Mumps.
 
Hillam was admitted to the 9th Field Ambulance with a septic right leg on the 5th of March 1917. Sepsis is a life-threatening illness which is generally caused when a wound gets infected. It is not stated how he got wounded, but he could have gotten wounded in many ways including shrapnel, gunshots, and cuts from wire. He re-joined the 43rd Battalion on the 13th of June 1917. Because of his septic right leg, he was absent during the Battle of Messines.
 
On the 2nd of July 1917, Hillam was admitted to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station because of a gunshot wound to the left leg and buttock. On this date, the unit diaries mention that one officer was killed and 18 O.R. (other ranks) were wounded, and we can assume that Hillam was one of these 18. Artillery, snipers, and machine guns were all reported on that date. He was transferred to the 32nd Stationary Hospital in Wimereux and to the 8th Ambulance Train to be transferred to England. On the 26th of July 1917, he was admitted to Norfolk War Hospital in Norwich. Hillam was out of the war from the 3rd of July to the 18th of October 1917; this meant he missed out on most of the 3rd Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele.

During his time away, his brother Private George Priestly Hillam, part of the 43rd Battalion, died of disease on the 31st of July 1917. Death from disease is quite common during war because of the terrible conditions, especially in the trenches.
 
During the German Spring Offensive, Hillam fought in the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux on the 24th of April 1918. The Battle of Villers-Bretonneux is considered a turning point of World War One for the Allied Forces. The German objective was to take the French town, Amiens, but immediately afterwards a counterattack was planned where the Australians approached the town from two sides to entrap the Germans. This was extraordinarily dangerous as it was in the dark and without support and the plan had to take place with only 3900 men. Charles Bean, the Australian Official War Correspondent wrote “I don’t believe they have a chance”. Today, this is considered one of the most outstanding manoeuvres of the war.
 
Later, Hillam was wounded by gassing to the eyes for the second time. Upon further inspection of the Unit Diaries, this happened on the same day that 9000 bomb shells fell (26th of May 1918) on the Battalion, killing and wounding many. Clearly, he was one of the lucky ones who was not killed, but we are told that the shells fell from 6am to 11am. Interestingly, most of the injuries recorded were to the eyes. Hillam was out of action until the 9th of July 1918, missing the Battle of Hamel.
  
When Hillam returned to the war, he became a Driver. This was an equivalent rank to Private. Drivers oversaw moving and pulling the guns and large artillery around the fields of war. It was generally horses that pulled the wagons which held the guns, and it is said that the horses that pulled the wagons knew when a shell was going to fall, alerting the soldiers.
 
Hillam returned to Australia on the 20th of May 1919 and was discharged on the 24th of August 1919. He married Kathleen Mary Davison on the 31st of March 1923 in Adelaide and worked as a Grazier. Hillam died on the 5th of June 1970, aged 85 in Glenelg East. He is buried at the Centennial Park Cemetery with his wife, Kathleen.