SLEE, William
| Service Number: | 989 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, Enlisted at Randwick, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Middlesborough, Yorkeshire, England, 1880 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Richmond Hill Board School, England |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 2 May 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Panel 16, Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 989, 2nd (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC), Enlisted at Randwick, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 989, 2nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 989, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suffolk, Sydney | |
| 2 May 1915: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 989, 2nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 989 awm_unit: 2 Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1915-05-02 |
Help us honour William Slee's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Arrived in Australia aged 28 Years
Son of John Slee address unknown possibly 6 Barmouth Street, Balm Road, Hunslet, Leeds, Yorkeshire, England
Next of kin given as Mrs Gribben of 12 Parkside Road. Cleator Moor, Cumberland, England. Relationship to William is unknown
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal issued to W.J. Slee of England
Served in the West Yorkeshire Regiment for 12 years including a time in South Africa Boer War
Biography contributed by John Oakes
William Slee (Service Number 989) was born at Middlesborough, Yorkshire, England about January 1880. He worked in the Railways Permanent Way Branch as a [track] packer at Homebush.
Slee enlisted at the Randwick on 22nd August 1914 and gave his father, John Slee of ’address unknown’, as his next of kin, He gave his ‘trade or calling’ on his Attestation Papers as ‘Labourer’. He also claimed 12 years' military experience with the West Yorkshire Regiment.
He was allotted to the machine gun section of the 2nd Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Suffolk’ on 18th October 1914 and reached Egypt on 6th December 1914. While in training there he was given 12 days detention for an unspecified offence.
On 5th April he embarked at Alexandria and during the passage to Gallipoli was promoted to Lance Corporal. The 2nd Battalion landed on Anzac Day.
Slee was wounded on 2nd May, and was then posted wounded and missing on the same day. His fate was not formally known until 24th March 1916 when a Court of Enquiry determined that he had in fact been killed in action on the day he was last seen. No trace of a grave was ever noted, and he is remembered at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli.
After some correspondence, Slee’s father was located in Yorkshire and his son’s personal effects were sent to him. As they became available after the war, medals and other mementoes were similarly disposed of.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.