DOUGLAS, Wilfred Ernest
| Service Numbers: | 2591, 2591A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Southern Cross, Western Australia, Australia, 4 October 1890 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Glassblower |
| Died: | Killed in action, Mouquet Farm, France, 14 August 1916, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Subiaco Fallen Soldiers Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2591, 11th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2591, 11th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2591, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Fremantle | |
| 14 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2591A, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2591A awm_unit: 51 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-14 |
Help us honour Wilfred Ernest Douglas's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Wilfred was the son of William George and Caroline Douglas and was born in 1890. His mother died of fever at Southern Cross, Western Australia when Wilfred was only seven months of age. His father remarried and had another six children. He worked for Sedgewick Ltd., paint specialists and glass merchants, and gave his occupation as a glassblower.
Wilfred's younger brother, 1747 Pte. Albert Henry Douglas, 11th Battalion AIF had been killed in action in France on 30 May 1916, aged 20. A total of 36 men of the 11th Battalion were all killed near la Cordonnerie Farm on this night when the Germans laid down a fierce barrage on their trench.
Another younger brother, 866 Private Percy Herbert Douglas 10th Light Horse Regiment had already been returned to Australia when he had his left thigh bone shattered at Gallipoli during May 1915. Wilfred's eldest brother, 865 Private William George Douglas 10th Light Horse Regiment was returned to Australia during 1917.
Wilfred died during an attack by the 51st Battalion on the Fabeck Graben trench near Mouquet Farm on 14 August 1916, a fierce overnight clash in which over 70 men from the unit died.
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