Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William Greenhill was born in 1886. At the time of his birth his father, Thomas Greenhill (1855 to 1934), was 31. His mother, Mary Barbara, nee Dickson (1865 to 1902), was 21 when she gave birth to William. William was the eldest of six, having three brothers and two sisters. His siblings were; Margaret Elizabeth Greenhill (1888 to ?), Barbara Greenhill (1891 to ?), Robert Greenhill (1895 to ?), who was in the 13th Light Horse Regiment and returned to Australia on 11 May 1919, John Dickson Greenhill (1897 to 1977), who was in the 8th Field Artillery Brigade and returned to Australia on the 3 of July 1919 and Charles Dickson Greenhill (1902 to 1986).

William’s father, Thomas Greenhill, was William’s next of kin. Thomas lived in Corryong, Victoria. He built the now demolished Corryong Grandstand and the still standing Towong Racecourse Grandstand.

William enlisted on 7 July, 1916, at Melbourne, Victoria. When William enlisted he was a 28-year-old, single, horsebreaker from Corryong, Victoria. He was 5 foot and 10 and a half inches tall (178 cm) and weighed 170 lbs (77 kg). His chest measurement was 35 to 38 inches, complexion was fresh, eyes brown and his hair was brown. His religious denomination was Presbyterian. His records indicate that he had four vaccinations marks on his left arm, a scar under his chin and another one on his left thumb. He was allocated the service number 1956 and put on strength with the 12th Reinforcements of the 13th Light Horse Regiment.

William embarked from Port Melbourne on the 20 October, 1916, on the transport HMAT A30 Borda. It would be nearly two and a half months before he disembarked at Plymouth on the 9 January, 1917. He would spend a further month and a half at the 13th Light Horse barracks at Tidworth training and undergoing courses in readiness to be sent overseas to France with the BEF.

He embarked on the troopship SS Invicta at Folkstone on the 28 February. Arriving in France, William was taken on strength with the 1st Anzac Troops.

It wasn’t long before William and his unit was in action against the Germans and it was on the 26 March that he suffered his first wounding in action. The War Diary of the 1st Anzac Mounted Troops state that A and B Squadrons of the 13th Light Horse cooperated with infantry on an attack on Lagnicourt. It was during this encounter that William was wounded. Clearly, the wound wasn’t too bad as his records indicate that he remained on duty.

Two months later, on the 15 May, William was notified that he had been awarded the Military Medal. His citation read;

‘Near BEAUMETZ on the 24 March, 1917, during the attack by the 59th Battalion on the quarry near this village - Trooper GREENHILL was one of a Light Horse patrol watching the flanks. Just as the order to withdraw was given the horse ridden by a Corporal ROBERTSON was killed. Trooper GREENHILL noticing this promptly galloped back a short distance under heavy fire and gave ROBERTSON a stirrup, thus assisting him to run on foot until becoming exhausted Sergeant CALLANDEN galloped back and gave him his horse. The prompt action of Private GREENHILL undoubtedly saved the life of Corporal ROBERTSON.'

On the 1 November, 1917, William was wounded in action for the second time. This time it warranted him being transferred as he had been gassed. He was initially admitted to the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance before being transferred to the 10th Casualty Clearing Station and finally the 6th General Hospital at Rouan.

Ten days after being gassed, William embarked on a hospital ship and was transferred to the 1st London General Hospital at Camberwell in England. William was finally transferred to the 1st Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. After a short period of rest and recuperation, he was given two weeks furlough. After this he spent some time at the Convalescent Depot at Sutton Veny in Wiltshire before going the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge Deverill. This long process of being sent to various hospitals and depots was standard for soldiers who had been wounded in action.

It wasn’t until the 3 May, 1918, that William rejoined the 13th Light Horse Regiment in the field in France. During the hot, sunny days of May, the 13th Light Horse was used for prisoner escort as well as undertaking specialist courses in areas such as signalling and musketry. In June, the 13th was relatively quiet with some troops being attached to infantry battalions and used in reconnaissance and for despatch riders. It was in September that things began to hot up for the 13th Light Horse as they were constantly used at the front for probing and reconnaissance tasks during the Allied offensive. In October of 1918, William was given ten days leave in Paris. On the 1 November, tens days before the Armistice, William was promoted to Lance Corporal.

William was back in England on the 23 February, 1919, in preparation for an early repatriation back to Australia. He disembarked at Southampton, in the south of England, on the SS Port Denison on the 25 March and arrived back in Australia on the 10 May, 1919. He was finally discharged from the AIF on the 17 June, 1919.

Other than the Military Medal, William was also awarded the British war Medal and the Victory Medal.

William died on the 5 May, 1968, at Corryong and was buried at Corryong, Victoria.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.