HARRIS, William Henry
| Service Number: | 864 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 July 1915, Enlisted at Melbourne on 8 July 1915. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Terang, Victoria, Australia, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Glenormiston North, Corangamite, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farm Hand |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Polygon Wood, Belgium, 26 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 864, 31st Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Melbourne on 8 July 1915. | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 864, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne | |
| 9 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 864, 31st Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 864, 31st Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| 26 Oct 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 864, 31st Infantry Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17, Wounded (shrapnel wound to face) at Factory Corner (near Flers). | |
| 26 Oct 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 864, 31st Infantry Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17 | |
| 26 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 864, 31st Infantry Battalion, Polygon Wood |
Lost Son and brother
My story of William has been told to me by my mother who was Williams niece. William went to wall from a little town in Victoria call Glenormiston. His family at home did not know how William was going until they received a telegram to say that William was missing, believed killed in action in the Battle of Polygon Wood.
Mother could not accept that William had died overseas fighting with the war. She continued to write to the army to try and get some definite indication that there was a body and proof that William had indeed died for years after, even into the 1920s the family still held hope that William had survived and it was a mistake.
An article appeared in the paper about a young soldier who had been found in France suffering amnesia and this prompted William’s mother to write again to the army hoping that this soldier who was in France may in fact have been her son William .
We have always thought of William as our hero going to the other side of the world to fight in a big war for his country and making the ultimate sacrifice.
You were never forgotten, you will not be forgotten nor will you ever be forgotten in the future, there are many families here in Australia which hold you in the highest regard for what you did.
May the love of your family fold their comforting
arms around you and hold you safe and loved
forever more.
Lest we forget
Submitted 25 May 2018 by Margaret Edge
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
William Henry Harris (of Glenormiston Vic) enlisted at Melbourne Vic on 8 July 1915, aged 27 years.
Allocated to the 31st Battalion AIF, he arrived in Egypt on 7 December 1915. Arriving in France on 23 June 1916, he entered the front line for the first time on 11 July 1916 (near Armentieres).
He participated in the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916 when the 31st Battalion alone suffered 572 casualties (including 152 killed).
Returning to the front lines later that year, on 26 October 1916 he was wounded when hit in the face by shrapnel at Factory Corner (near Flers).
Following additional illnesses over the ensuing months (mumps & pleurisy) he returned to his unit on 21 March 1917.
The next major action was on 26 September 1917 at Polygon Wood, a 1.5km advance through the shattered remains of a tree plantation. Despite being classified as a success, overall casualties amounted to 5,471 men (31st Battalion casualties alone amounted to 433 - inlcuding 121 killed or missing).
Following the battle, William Harris was officially declared missing (later declared killed) in action on 26 September 1917, following a court of enquiry held on 15 October 1918.
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