HARRIS, William John Henry
| Service Number: | 3775 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Berry, New South Wales, Australia, 25 October 1893 |
| Home Town: | Bangalow, Byron Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 12 June 1918, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery e |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ewingsdale Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3775, 9th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3775, 9th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Itonus embarkation_ship_number: A50 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3775, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Itonus, Brisbane | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3775, 9th Infantry Battalion, Evacuated to England | |
| 12 Jun 1918: | Involvement Private, 3775, 49th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3775 awm_unit: 49th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-06-12 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
William John Henry HARRIS, (Service Number 3775) was born on 25 October 1893 at Berry. He first worked for the NSWGR as a junior porter in the Lismore District on six months’ probation from December 1911. On his 21st birthday in 1915 he became a porter, still at Lismore, though by this time he had been granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces and had enlisted. At that time, 12 August 1915, he was unmarried and gave his father, who was now living in Mullumbimby as his next of kin.
Submitted 31 August 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
William John Henry HARRIS (Service Number 3775) was born on 25th October 1893 at Berry. He first worked for the NSW Government Railways as a junior porter in the Lismore District on six months’ probation from December 1911. On his 21st birthday in 1915 he became a porter, still at Lismore, although by this time he had been granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces and had enlisted. At that time, 12th August 1915, he was unmarried and gave his father, who was now living in Mullumbimby as his next of kin.
He left Australia from Brisbane aboard HMAT ‘Itonus’ on 30th December 1915. Once in Egypt he was allotted to the 45th Australian Infantry Battalion at the end of February 1916. He embarked for Europe from Alexandria and went to Marseilles. He received a shrapnel wound to his head on 3rd September 1917 and was evacuated to England. After he had recovered from this wound, he had furlough but was then hospitalised with Influenza at the end of 1916. He spent nearly the whole of 1917 in England either recovering from wound and illness, or in further training. When he returned to France in December was once again hospitalised with trench fever in January 1918 and returned to England. While away from the front Harris was charged with being Absent Without Leave and fined six days pay. He went to France on 23rd May 1918.
He was killed in action on 12th June 1918.
He was at first buried at Vaux-sur-Somme Communal Cemetery Extension 1¾ miles East North East of Corbie, but later exhumed and reburied in the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board