ACKERLY, William Arthur Harry
| Service Number: | 4651 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 January 1916, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mansfield, Victoria, Australia, 29 August 1882 |
| Home Town: | Northcote, Darebin, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Mansfield State School |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 25 February 1917, aged 34 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Isolated grave .25 mile west of Warlencourt Eaucourt, 3 miles W.S.W of Bapaume, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France, AIF Burial Ground, Flers, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mansfield War Memorial Gates, Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works Employees Ass. Pictorial HR, Nar Nar Goon Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works Roll of Honor, Northcote Prince of Wales Methodist Church Honor Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4651, 21st Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 4651, 21st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 4651, 21st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Melbourne |
Help us honour William Arthur Harry Ackerly's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Harry and L A C ACKERLY
Husband of Alice R ACKERLY
Of 60 Mansfield Street, Northcote, Melbourne, Vic.
PRIVATE ACKERLY KILLED
It was with sincere regret that friends of Private W. A. H. Ackerly received news that he had been killed in action in France on 25th Feb., 1917. The late soldier enlisted in February, 1916, and sailed on 4th April, 1916. After training in Egypt and Salisbury Plains he saw active service both in Belgium and in the Battle of the Somme. Private Ackerly was a man of wide interests, being a trustee of the Northcote Oddfellows' Lodge, a member of the Northcote Horticultural Society, and a member and trustee of the Croxton Methodist Church. His kindly genial presence will be much missed by the young men of the Church, as he was one of the vice-presidents of their Literary Society and took a lively interest in their welfare. The deceased was possessed of marked literary ability, and in 1911 succeeded in winning at the South Street competitions the championship medal,awarded by Lord Dudley, also a £50 prize donated by the State Government for an essay on "Victorian Resources," and was the winner of many other literary awards. Prior to enlistment he was employed on the clerical staff of the Metropolitan Board of Works for some 18 years and there held in high esteem by his comrades. He leaves a wife and two children to mourn his loss. His many friends also greatly regret the loss of a true comrade and a sterling citizen, with whom duty always stood before personal comfort or safety.
Click images to start slideshow.