WILLIAMS, Edwin George
| Service Number: | 1195 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lucindale, South Australia, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Lucindale, Naracoorte and Lucindale, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer and Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 27 March 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Spoilbank Cemetery, Zillebeke, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 1195, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 1195, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne |
Help us honour Edwin George Williams's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Edwin George Williams was born in 1889 in a small town, called Lucindale in South Australia. During Edwin’s early years he worked as a carpenter and a clerk. He had a number of distinguishable features that included a scar on his right hand and multiple moles on this left shoulder, he was 6 foot tall had blonde hair and blue eyes. When the war erupted, Edwin was among the first to answer the call, enlisting into the armed forces on the 11 September 1914. He completed a medical and took his oath at Morphettville, in South Australia. Within 2 months he bid farewell to his mother, father and girlfriend and he left the small country town, he had called home for the last 26 years and embarked on a journey that would forever change the course of his life. After a brief stop in Albany, he proceeded to Egypt arriving in early December.
He entered the armed forces as Private 1195 and was a member of the 10th Battalion, his primary weapon a machine gun. As a member of the 10th Battalion Private Edwin was heavily involved in defending the front line at Gallipoli in 1915 until his battalion was evacuated in December that year, after which he returned to Egypt. In early 1916 Private Edwin set sail for the Western Front in France. Being a machine gunner, he was involved in trench warfare. He was involved in the battalions first major offensive in France a battle at Pozieres in the Somme Valley and then also in Ypres in Flanders
As expected, war took its tool and Private Edwin was not immune from sickness and injury and as a result on many occasions, he was hospitalised. He was also wounded twice, once accidently in the face and the other from a gun shot wound on the 1st March 1917 where during a battle in France Private Edwin was wounded by a shell splinter on the outer side of his right leg. After treatment he returned to active duty on 11th April 1917.
In March 1918, the 10th Battalion was helping to stop a German offensive near Merris in France. It was here that Private Edwin was killed in action on the 27th of March 1918 amidst enemy gunfire, where he risked his own life by assisting a wounded comrade but was snipped in the head. His body was buried in Spoilbank Military Cemetery in Belgium. His personal effects including 2 discs, cards, photos, name stamp, notebook, wallet gold ring and leather belt were forwarded to his mother, Ellen.
Reference List
CWGC. Private Edwin George Williams | War Casualty Details 488177 | CWGC. CWGC. Published 2021. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/488177/edwin-george-williams/
Terrace V. View digital copy. Naa.gov.au. Published 2024. Accessed March 14, 2024. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1806634&S=1
Terrace V. View digital copy. Naa.gov.au. Published 2024. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1806634&S=1
GALLIPOLI | AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL. AWM.GOV.AU. PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2023. ACCESSED MARCH 13, 2024. HTTPS://WWW.AWM.GOV.AU/ARTICLES/ENCYCLOPEDIA/GALLIPOLI
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