DONALD, William
| Service Number: | 225 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Airdrie, Scotland, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Broken Hill, Broken Hill Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Sailor |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 225, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 225, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
William Donald was born around 1890 in Airdrie, Scotland. Donald was the son of James Donald, who was his next of kin. Donald enlisted to fight in the First World War on the 2nd of August 1914 . He was 24 years old. According to his attestation paper, Donald had brown hair, brown eyes, a fair complexion and was 5 feet and 7 inches tall, with a chest measurement of 39 inches. He described himself as Presbyterian. His unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board the transport Ascanius on the 20th of October 1914. Donald’s rank on enlistment was private. He worked as a sailor before going to war. Donald was placed in the 10th Infantry Battalion.
After some basic training, the 10th Battalion embarked for Egypt, where further training was undertaken until the battalion was committed to the Gallipoli campaign. During the landing at Anzac Cove, they came ashore as part of the initial covering force. Members from the 10th Battalion penetrated the furthest inland of any Australian troops during the initial fighting, before the Allied advance inland was checked. The 10th Battalion was in the 3rd brigade, the first ashore at ANZAC Cove on the 25th of April 1915. They played a major role in the 19th of May 1915 defence against a large Turkish counter-attack.
During World War 1, Donald went to the hospital quite a lot for various reasons. Due to the risk of infection, Donald and many other soldiers had their teeth extracted during the war to prevent the risk of infection. He went to the hospital on the 25th of August 1915 after being wounded by gunshot to the leg and was then sent to England for further treatment. On the 29th of August 1915, he was admitted to hospital for gastritis and diarrhoea. He was then disembarked on the 31st of August and then went to get dental care on the 4th of September 1915. He then embarked for England because of more tooth issues on the 16th. On the 29th of December 1915, Donald had a detention for 96 hours because he was caught drunk. Donald rejoined from the hospital on the 15th of January 1916 and on the same day disembarked for England. Afterwards, he was in hospital on the 23rd of March 1916 because he was sick.
After the war, Donald got married to Margaret Maynrilly, who was 23 at the time, at the church of Scotland. Donald returned to Australia on September 24th, 1918. He was discharged on the 21st of January 1919, and the reasoning to this was the cessation of hostilities, meaning that the fighting and war had stopped. Donald’s total service in World War I was 4 years and 154 days, while his service abroad was 4 years and 35 days.