HARVEY, William George
| Service Number: | 106 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 1st Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Canterbury, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Canterbury, Boroondara, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Builder |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Belgium, 14 September 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Belgian Battery Corner Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Camberwell War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sapper, 106, 2nd Field Company Engineers | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Aug 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 2nd Field Company Engineers | |
| 20 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1st Pioneer Battalion | |
| 24 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 1st Pioneer Battalion | |
| 1 Jul 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 1st Pioneer Battalion | |
| 4 Aug 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Captain, 1st Pioneer Battalion | |
| 18 Nov 1916: | Honoured Military Cross | |
| 14 Sep 1917: | Involvement Captain, 1st Pioneer Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion awm_rank: Captain awm_died_date: 1917-09-14 | |
| Date unknown: | Embarked 106, 2nd Field Company Engineers, HMAT Anglo Egyptian | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 106, 2nd Field Company Engineers, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: '' embarkation_ship: HMAT Anglo Egyptian embarkation_ship_number: A25 public_note: '' |
Grave of Captain W G Harvey MC
My grandfather Pvt John Charles Trapnell, was a runner for Captain Harvey, and he often spoke with me about the Captain. I visited Captain Harvey's grave in the Belgian Battery Corner Cemetery near Ypres and upon my return to Australia researched to find a direct relative of Captain Harvey. The research conducted revealed that Captain Harvey had no direct descendants living today, so quite possibly, I am the only person to visit and pay my respects at Captain Harvey's grave.
Captain Harvey married Mona Madeline Faragher on 18 October 1916 in London and was killed in action on 14 September 1917.
Neither of Captain Harvey’s death notices in The Age or The Argus mention a child, only his wife Mona. Not really surprising as they had not been married for that long.
Captain Harvey died intestate with money owing to his estate from the army. Letters of Administration were granted to the Curator of the Estates of Deceased Persons on 13 December 1918. Mona is the only next of kin mentioned in the grant document. (see doc. 1)
Mona married another Australian soldier, Clarence Robert Murphy on 26 April 1919 in London.
She sailed to the USA in 1921 from Australia to join Clarence, now discharged from the Australian Army and working for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company.
Captain Harvey was only 25 when he lost his life.
Submitted 26 January 2025 by Don Trapnell
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