YOUNG, William James Gregor
| Service Number: | 515 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 October 1914, Winton |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rockhampton, Queensland, 6 August 1896 |
| Home Town: | Winton, Winton, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tank Sinker |
| Died: | Natural causes, Castle Hill, New South Wales, 3 June 1989, aged 92 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Oct 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 515, 5th Light Horse Regiment, Winton | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 515, 5th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 515, 5th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Persic, Sydney | |
| 15 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 515, 5th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 19 Aug 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 515, 5th Light Horse Regiment, HT Ascania, Mudros for England - influenza | |
| 12 Jan 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 9 Apr 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 5 May 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 515, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Noreuil, Shrapnel wounds right foot, left arm and face | |
| 22 Dec 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 21 Apr 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 515, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Strazeele, Shrapnel wounds right arm and face | |
| 22 Sep 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Corporal, 515, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Port Sydney, London for return to Australia - arriving 12 November 1919 | |
| 29 Nov 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 515, 2nd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
William Young's experiences in World War 1 are best described as a great adventure.
Enlisting in October 1914 at Winton in the 5th Light Horse Regiment with his elder brother Walter Young, William along with his brother were to see service at Gallipoli. Sadly his bother, 512 Private Walter Alexander Young, was killed in action at Anzac Cove on 28 June 1915. Another brother, John Arthur Young also served with the AIF, as a Gunner in the Field Artillery, before being wounded and repatriated in late 1917.
Suffering from influenza in August 1915, Private William Young was evacuated from the peninsula to England for treatment.
It was here that his real adventures began. "Escaping" hospital, he was AWL for much of 1916 before being arrested in Horseferry Road, London on 2 November 1916. Although sentenced to six months detention, this was remitted to two months and he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion AIF on the Western Front in early 1917.
Promoted to Lance Corporal and then Corporal, he was twice wounded, in late 1917 and early 1918. Whilst recovering from his injuries in England in 1918 he undertook wool classification training.
On 26 November 1918 he married South African born, Alice Hambly Parker at St Saviour's Church, Paddington, London. The couple returned to Australia in late 1919.
Alice died at Sydney in 1949, after which William married Mysie Louise McGill in 1951. They were together 24 years until her passing in 1975.
A Gallipoli veteran, William James Gregor Young died at Castle Hill, New South Wales in 1989. He was 92.
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