Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

A shell hit the barn where William had been resting

Birth registered as Prior.

Births Sep 1888   PRIOR William John Bodmin 5c 83

He was 29 and the eldest son of Thomas and Emily Pryor [nee Crahart] of "Polshea," St. Tudy, Cornwall, England. They married in 1886 and had a family of 12 children, William being the third

He is honoured on the St Tudy Parish Church War Memorial.

In 1911,William is listed as working as a Horseman on a farm in St. Mabyn.Shortly after the census, he emigrated to Brooklet, a small village near Lismore in New South Wales, Australia, where he worked on  local farms; the last one he worked on was owned by the Johnston Family.He seemed to fit in to his new surroundings very well, and joined the local Methodist Church, and did work for the Sunday School and Christian Endeavour Society. William  joined the Australian Imperial Force on 19th June 1916, and signed up at Lismore, New South Wales. On his Australian Imperial Force enlistment papers, he is said to be 5ft 7 inches tall, dark complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair, and a Methodist. He did his training at Enoggera Barracks, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.He had already lost a good friend the year before, the son of his employer, Mr. Johnston, and perhaps this is what prompted him to join up, or it may have been one of the patriotic carnivals that were held in the area.William embarked on the “Boonah” which sailed from Brisbane, on 21st October 1916 after four months training. After a three month voyage, he disembarked in Plymouth and was hospitalised at the Parkhouse in Plymouth, suffering from influenza and mumps, but recovered sufficiently to travel to France on 25th April 1917.The 10th/31st Battalion was involved in follow-up operations when the German Army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line, and it was whilst they were resting in Bourgancourt Farmhouse near Varre on 10th of April 1918 at mid-day, that three shells hit the Farmhouse, and William was killed instantly, together with about 20 others. A friend reporting on the incident said “he was a quiet man”

His death was reported in the Northern Star, New South Wales, on Monday 12th  August, 1918. There was a lengthy article on the Memorial Service that was held for William. He was obviously a very trusted friend and very much part of his local community and liked and admired by all, and was held in esteem for his character and personality. His employer, and father of his friend, Mr Johnston, said that William had many sterling qualities, his uprightness and honesty of purpose, gained him the goodwill and esteem of all that he came in contact with..He is commemorated in his Australian local area of Newrybar and Brooklet, a small village similar to St. Tudy.The Memorial Service report in the Northern Star Newspaper 12 August 1918................

MEMORIAL SERVICE –THE LATE PTE.W. J. PRIOR.

A large congregation attended the Brooklet Protestant Hall on Sunday morning last, 4th Instant, when a memorial service was conducted in connection with the death of the late Pte. W.J. Prior, who was killed on active service in France on 10th April, 1918. The reading desk was draped in mourning and the Battalion colours of the late soldier, (purple and aqua), and bowls of white flowers were on either side of the desk; also the Union Jack and Commonwealth flags. An enlarged photo of the deceased was also on a rest on the platform, and around it was the regalia of the Orangemen, to which order he belonged; Several members of the order were present in regalia. The late soldier was a native of Cornwall, England, and on arrival in the state some few years ago entered the service of Mr J.N. Ferguson, of Bangalow, and afterwards was employed by Mr. Blewitt, of Brooklet. The deceased, by his many sterling qualities, his uprightness and honesty of purpose gained the good will and esteem of all with he came in contact.He was also a religious worker in connection with the Methodist Church, it's Sunday school, and Christian Endeavour Society. Letters of appreciation were read from Messrs J N Ferguson and Fred Ellis, also Reverend A F Crapp, who, was the resident minister at Brooklet during the late soldier's residence here, each of whom testified to the regard and esteem in which they held the departed appropriate. Hymns were sung, and at the close of the service, the National Anthem and the litany used in war time were sung. Miss Boorman, organist, played the “Dead March”, the congregation stood with bowed heads in silent prayer. The Rev. Ellis Thomas conducted the service and took as his text Hebrews 11Chap. 4Th verse: “And by it he being dead yet speaketh”.

His mother's maiden surname was actually Carhart-and not as shown in the GRO records

Marriages Jun 1886

Crahart Emily    Camelford 5c 23
PRYOR Thomas  Camelford 5c 23