BOUCHER, William Joseph
| Service Numbers: | 25A, 25 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 August 1914, Enlisted at Bendigo, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kangaroo Flat, Victoria, Australia, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 25 April 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Panel 28, Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bendigo Buckley Street Methodist Sunday School, Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor, Bendigo Webster Street Methodist Church Sunday School Roll of Honor, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 25A, Enlisted at Bendigo, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Aug 1914: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 7th Infantry Battalion, Appointed to 7th Battalion HQ as Batman (Private). | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 25A, 4th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 25A, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement Private, 25, 7th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 25 awm_unit: 7 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1915-04-25 |
Help us honour William Joseph Boucher's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Mary Boucher of 14 Forest Street, Bendigo, Victoria
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by Larna Malone
William Joseph Boucher was born in Kangaroo Flat, the son of Walter (dec.) & Mary Boucher, of 14 Forest-street, Bendigo. He was 22 years & 2 months old, had previous military service in the 2/8th ALH, and was employed as a labourer at a cyanide plant at Huntly. He had previously been employed as a coachbuilder at Mr. Morrison’s.
He was amongst the early volunteers for the Expeditionary Force, enlisting on 18.8.14. The following day he left Bendigo for the Broadmeadows Camp. He was allotted Service no. 25 and appointed to HQ Staff, 7th Battalion, as a Batman.
William Joseph Boucher was in a tent of 10 men, who called themselves “The Boobaroos”. One of the men, Charles “Ky’ Curtayne, wrote frequently to the Bendigo newspapers with updates of their activities. In a letter published in the Bendigo Advertiser, September 2, 1914, Curtayne wrote that W. Boucher was orderly to Major Hart. i.e. Arthur George Charles Hart.
The 7th Battalion left Broadmeadows Camp on 18 October, 1914, and embarked for service overseas on board HMAT ‘Hororata’. Arriving in Egypt the battalion moved into camp at Mena, at the foot of the pyramids. (6/12/14)
In January, 1915, the Australian force was re-organized. In the 7th Battalion ‘G’ and ‘H’ Companies joined to form the new ‘D’ Company. This meant that all the men from Northern Victoria were together in one Company.
Possibly in consequence of this re-organization, Curtayne wrote: “Boucher got tired of being a gentleman’s orderly, and took on work again” [Bendigo Advertiser. February 18, 1915]
The 7th Battalion was part of the force which landed at Anzac Cove on 25th April, 1915.
Boucher was one of the men in 14th platoon, ‘D’ Company, which went forward from the main body and were out past Lone Pine. They succeeded in keeping the Turks back on Third Ridge until late in the afternoon. The platoon sustained a high number of casualties when overrun by the Turks.
William Joseph Boucher was KIA. His body was never found and he has no known grave. His name was recorded on the Lone Pine Memorial.
“The First Lot. 7th Battalion. The first men of the Bendigo district to volunteer for service in the First World War.”: Larna Malone
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