COLES, Wilfred James
| Service Number: | 7588 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 March 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | York, Western Australia, 30 August 1900 |
| Home Town: | Kojonup, Kojonup, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 9 January 1999, aged 98 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Cremation |
| Memorials: | Brookton District War Memorial, York District Great War Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Mar 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7588, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 7588, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 7588, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Borda, Fremantle | |
| 12 Jul 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 7588, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), embarked England for Fremantle on board HT City of Exeter | |
| 16 Sep 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 7588, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
Help us honour Wilfred James Coles's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Wilfred James Coles (Service No:7588) enlisted in the AIF on 26 March 1917, and was attached to 16th Infantry Battalion on 29 June 1917 when he embarked with his Unit from Fremantle for Portsmouth on board HMAT A30 Borda. Private Coles served on the Western Front, and embarked from England for Fremantle on 12 July 1919 on board HT City of Exeter. Private Coles was attached to 16th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 16 September 1919. In 1999, he was one of seventy one (71) surviving Great War Veterans presented with the 80th Anniversary Armistace Remembrance Medal.
Bill was born in York, Western Australia in 1900 to Ellen Louisa Coles (b1872 in York, Western Australia) and William James Douperouzel (b1874 in York, Western Australia) - Ellen and William were engaged, but William married another woman. In 1907 in York, Ellen married Oliver Ryan (b1873 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales) - Oliver was working in York as a Saddler. The couple settled in York, where they had two sons and Oliver was a Saddler and Grazier. Bill ran away from home in 1911, and Oliver and Ellen settled in Kojonup, where Oliver was a Saddler and Harness Maker and a Farmer.
Bill was working in Kojonup in 1917 when he enlisted in the AIF, and following his Discharge in 1919, worked in Mundijong as a Timber Worker and Meekatharra and Carnarvon as a Drover. In 1931 in Irwin via Geraldton, Bill married Ivy Brimson (b1914 at Three Springs, Western Australia), and the couple settled in Midland, where Bill was a Labourer. Following their divorce in 1943, Bill settled in Kalgoorlie, where he worked as a Miner. Bill died in 1999.
Click images to start slideshow.