WILLIAMS, Richard Elton
| Service Numbers: | Officer, V14992 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 May 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer Class 1 |
| Last Unit: | 1 Base Ammunition Depot |
| Born: | Essendon, Victoria, Australia, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Moonee Ponds, Moonee Valley, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Essendon State School No 483, Melbourne Grammar School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Station Bookkeeper and Overseer |
| Died: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 July 1961, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Fawkner Memorial Park Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Essendon State School No 483 Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 13 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Officer, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb 1916: | Involvement 21st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Warilda embarkation_ship_number: A69 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Feb 1916: | Embarked 21st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Warilda, Melbourne | |
| 9 Sep 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 21st Infantry Battalion, embarked Southampton for Melbourne on board HS Kanowna | |
| 5 Apr 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 21st Infantry Battalion, Appointment Terminated - medically unfit |
World War 2 Service
| 2 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , V14992, General Hospitals - WW2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 1, V14992 | |
| 19 Feb 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , V14992, 1 Base Ammunition Depot | |
| 19 Feb 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 1, V14992 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Lieutenant Richard Elton Williams served in the AIF with 21st Infantry Battalion from 13 May 1915 to 5 May 1915 when his appointment was terminated. Lieutenant Williams was attached to 1st Training Camp Etaples (France) as an Instructor. In WWII, he enlisted in the ACMF as Private (Service No:V14992) on 2 June 1941, attached to 115 General Hospital - Nursing Orderly. By November 1942, he was a Sergeant attached to 1 Australian Base Ammunition Depot, and was Discharged from there as a Warrant Officer I on 19 February 1945.
Richard was born in Ascot Vale, Melbourne, Victoria in 1891, eldest of two children of Octavius Williams (b1861 in Cornwall, England) and Frances Whatman (b1863 in Creswick, Victoria). Octavius was an Assistant Clothing Outfitter in Cornwall before immigrating to Victoria where, in 1890 in Ballarat, he and Frances married. The couple settled in Melbourne, where they raised their family and Octavius worked as a Salesman and then Draper.
Richard attended Melbourne Grammar School and was a choirboy at St Paul's Church of England in Ascot Vale, Melbourne. In 1911 he worked in Wangaratta as a Station Bookkeeper and Overseer until his enlistment in the AIF. Following his Discharge, Richard worked briefly as a Clerk with the National Bank Melbourne and in 1917 in Melbourne married Letitia Evelyn Taylor (b1888 in Swanpool, Victoria). Richard and Letitia settled in Melbourne (apart from a brief period in Ballarat in the 1920s), where they raised their family and Richard became a Public Servant - Clerk with the Commonwealth Pensions Office, Accountant and Inspector. Richard died in 1961 and Letitia in 1969.
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