DUNSTAN, William
| Service Number: | 2130 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 June 1915, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 8 March 1895 |
| Home Town: | Ballarat, Central Highlands, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Golden Point State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Draper's Clerk |
| Died: | Natural causes, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 March 1957, aged 61 years |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne Banksia, Wall D, Niche 507 |
| Tree Plaque: |
Mandurah Memorial Pine Trees
|
| Memorials: | Ballarat Golden Point State School, Keith Payne VC Memorial Park, North Bondi War Memorial, North Brother War Memorial, St Johns No 36, Yarrowee No 10, Orion No 53 Lodges, Tuncurry Battle of Lone Pine Victoria Cross Recipients Memorial, Winchelsea WWI Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2130, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Jun 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 2130, 7th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' |
|
| 17 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2130, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne | |
| 5 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 2130, 7th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, A/Corporal | |
| 9 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 2130, 7th Infantry Battalion, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli | |
| 9 Aug 1915: | Honoured Victoria Cross, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli | |
| 1 Feb 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 2130 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Dunstan, William (1895–1957)
by R. P. Serle
William Dunstan, soldier and newspaper manager, was born on 8 March 1895 at Ballarat East, Victoria, fourth child and third son of William John Dunstan, bootmaker, and his wife Henrietta, née Mitchell. At Golden Point State School he was a very bright pupil. He left school at 15 to join the clerical staff of Snows, drapers at Ballarat. He served under the compulsory training scheme as a cadet gaining the cadet rank of captain, Australian Military Forces, and in July 1914 was commissioned lieutenant in the militia with the 70th Infantry (Ballarat Regiment).
On 2 June 1915 Dunstan enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as a private and a fortnight later embarked for Egypt as an acting sergeant of the 6th Reinforcements of the 7th Battalion. From 5 August he was an acting corporal with the 7th on Gallipoli where four days later he won the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery at Lone Pine. Early on 9 August the Turks made a determined counter-attack on a newly captured trench held by Lieutenant Frederick Tubb and ten men. Two men were told to remain on the floor of the trench to catch and throw back enemy bombs or to smother their explosions with overcoats; both were soon mutilated. Tubb, with Corporal Dunstan, Corporal Alexander Burton and six others, kept firing over the parapet. Several bombs burst simultaneously in the trench killing or wounding five men. Tubb continued to fight, supported only by Dunstan and Burton until a violent explosion blew down the barricade. Tubb drove the Turks off and Dunstan and Burton were rebuilding it when a bomb burst between them, killing Burton and temporarily blinding Dunstan. He was invalided to Australia and discharged on 1 February 1916 having been twice mentioned in dispatches. He then rejoined the Citizen Forces, serving in the rank of lieutenant as area officer, Ballarat, and acting brigade major, 18th Infantry Brigade. His army career concluded when he transferred to the 6th Infantry Battalion in Melbourne in 1921, the unattached list in 1923 and the reserve of officers in 1928, retiring as lieutenant.
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dunstan-william-6059 (adb.anu.edu.au)
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