William Wallace (Will) GAWN

GAWN, William Wallace

Service Number: 2926
Enlisted: 18 September 1916
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: Australian Provost Corps
Born: Ballyclare, Ireland, 29 March 1897
Home Town: Cardiff, Lake Macquarie Shire, New South Wales
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Gardener
Died: Sandgate, New South Wales, Australia, 28 July 1961, aged 64 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Newcastle (Sandgate) War Cemetery
METHODIST 2 (PRIMITIVE) 14 NW. 33.
Memorials: Cardiff Methodist Church Roll of Honour, Cardiff RSL Club Roll of Honour
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World War 1 Service

18 Sep 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2926, 36th Infantry Battalion
25 Nov 1916: Involvement Private, 2926, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: ''
25 Nov 1916: Embarked Private, 2926, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney
31 May 1918: Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
25 Feb 1919: Transferred AIF WW1, Private, Australian Provost Corps
14 Aug 1919: Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2926, Australian Provost Corps

Help us honour William Wallace Gawn's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Evan Evans

From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery

Served in The Great War, resting at Sandgate Cemetery.

59 years ago today, on the 1st August 1961, Private William Wallace Gawn, Australian Provost Corps, gardener from Cardiff, New South Wales and Ash Island, N.S.W. (1930) and Maitland Road, Sandgate, N.S.W. (1950), was laid to rest at Sandgate Cemetery, age 64. METHODIST 2 (PRIMITIVE) 14 NW. 33.

Born at Ballyclare, County Antrim, Northern Ireland on the 29th March 1897 to Robert and Isabella Gawn nee Huoy of Point Street, Larne, Ireland; husband of Amy Belinda Gawn nee Maher (married 1921, Waratah, N.S.W., died 1972) - see postcard from Will to Amy from 1917! William enlisted September 1916 with the 34th Battalion at Newcastle, N.S.W.

Admitted to hospital 23.1.1918 (accidental injury to ankle, severe), William returned home July 1919, being discharged on the 14th August 1919.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139443490
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139446405
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140070325
His name has been inscribed on the Cardiff WW1 Roll of Honour and the Cardiff Methodist Church Roll of Honour

There is no headstone at the gravesite of Mr Gawn to tell us of his service with the 1st A.I.F., now forgotten, so December 2017 I placed a cross adorned with poppies, taken a photo of the grave and uploaded the photo onto the Northern Cemetery website as a permanent record of his service.
http://sandgate.northerncemeteries.com.au/index.php/search-our-virtual-records/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&aso=exact&s_f=id&data_search=28283#3

William will receive a Plaque courtesy of the Forgotten Diggers Headstone Project.
Lest We Forget.

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