NELSON, William John
| Service Number: | 2400 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 May 1915, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Romsey, Victoria, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Kembla, Wollongong, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Motor Driver/Miner |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Wollongong, New South Wales, 1962 |
| Cemetery: |
Wollongong Cemetery, NSW Laid to rest with wife Lillian Peace |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 24 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Liverpool, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Jul 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2400, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Jul 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2400, 1st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Orsova, Sydney |
William John Nelson
William John Nelson was born in 1891, Romsey, Victoria to George Alexander Nelson and Agnes Rowatt, both of Scotland.
William was the brother of Jacob Alexander Nelson and the nephew of William Nelson who both died in the 1902 Mount Kembla mining Explosion. He was also the brother of James Nelson who died at Mount Kembla mine in 1920.
At the age of 15, William was also working for the Mount Kembla mine (trove report of falling over a sprag and breaking his arm).
Military
24 May 1915
Age: 24
Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Enlistment: Australia - 1st Battalion, 7th Reinforcement
14 July 1915
Sydney N.S.W. Australia
Date of embarkation: 14 July 1915 Place of embarkation: Sydney Ship embarked on HMAT Orsova
4 Nov 1915
Gallipoli, Canakkale, Turkey
William joined the 1st Battalion at Gallipoli
28 Dec 1915
Alexandria, Al Iskandariyah, Egypt
Arrived on board the HMT Huntsgreen troopship
14 Jan 1916
Tel El Kebir, Egypt
Listed as driver
19 Mar 1916
Serapeum, Egypt
Attached to division train
29 Mar 1916
Marseilles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Disembarkment 18.4.16 rejoined battalion (field) at the western front
26 June 1917
Marseilles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Leave in UK after serving a full year in the field
12 Dec 1918
Marseilles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Admim transfer to 1ADRAS because of deafness
9 May 1919
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Return from active service aboard the Kildonan
William returned to live and work in the mines in the Wollongong area, until he passed away aged 71 in 1967
Submitted 31 July 2015 by Kathie Bezer
Click images to start slideshow.