FIELD, William Alfred
| Service Numbers: | 1865, SN1865 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide South Australia, February 1883 |
| Home Town: | Unley, Unley, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Wistow Primary, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Trapper |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 11 April 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 1865, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Jan 1916: | Embarked Private, 1865, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Borda, Adelaide | |
| 6 Mar 1916: | Involvement SN1865, 15th Infantry Battalion, Taken on strength to 15th | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Involvement Private, 1865, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1865 awm_unit: 15th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-04-11 |
Internal Notes for RSL Publication - A District of Service - RSL Macclesfield Sub Branch
FIELD William Alfred – 1865 KIA
William was the son of Henry FIELD & Elizabeth Fortesque BUTLER and was born in 1883 in Adelaide, SA.
His birth was not registered.
The family lived at McLaren Street, Adelaide.
William was the 6th child born into the family of 7 children.
His mother died of Phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis), on the 8th of March 1887, when William was 4 years of age.
His parents were married on the 28th of April 1873 in Adelaide, SA.
His father was the son of Thomas FIELD & Ann HARRIS and was born on the 13th of June 1848 in Cape Town, South Africa.
His mother was the daughter of Samuel James BUTLER & Elizabeth Fortesque TAYLOR and was born on the 29th of September 1849 in New Parkside, Adelaide, SA.
By 1894 his father was unable to care for William, and he was placed into the State Children’s Department.
William was sentenced for 16 years.
On the 13th of January 1894 he was placed with Mr Alfred James Possingham & his wife; Elizabeth, a farmer, near Wistow.
Their owned and farmed, Section 2876 Hundred of Macclesfield (located a few kilometres from Wistow, on the corner of Tindale Rd & Long Valley Rd).
William was 11 years of age.
William attended the Wistow Primary School for 2 years.
He was transferred on the 10th of July 1896 to Mr James Thomas, a farmer, at Barooka, SA.
He stayed there until he was 16 years of age, when he turned over age for subsidy.
William was a trapper.
William married Lillie Charlotte Nellie HARDIE on the 3rd of March 1915 in Jamestown, SA.
Lillie was the daughter of Alec Herbert HARDIE
They lived at 54 McLaren Street, Adelaide.
They had 1 son; William Alfred Edmund FIELD.
William enlisted into the 32nd Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement on the 12th of August 1915 in Adelaide, SA and was allotted the service number 1865.
William was Killed in Action by machine gun fire, at Bullecourt, whilst serving with the 15th Battalion, on the morning of the 11th of April 1917.
He has no known grave.
Lest We Forget
Submitted 9 October 2021 by Paul Lemar
Click images to start slideshow.