SIMPSON, William
| Service Number: | 3439 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, 7 April 1892 |
| Home Town: | Gympie, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 August 1917, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gympie & Widgee War Memorial Gates, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3439, 4th Pioneer Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 3439, 4th Pioneer Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 3439, 4th Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney |
Help us honour William Simpson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
William (Simmo) was the eldest of 8 children of John Goldie Simpson and Hannah Steele of Ipswich and Gympie in Queensland. He was working as a Labourer (Timber Getter) in Gympie, QLD when he enlisted in Rockhampton QLD in the AIF (Service No: 3439) with the 4th Australian Pioneer Battalion.
According to the Australian Red Cross Society Enquiry Bureau Files, William was digging a communications trench when he was killed instantly by a High Explosive Shell. He was buried on the spot at Fanning;s Farm, and a cross marked his grave.
A couple of days before his death, one of his mates said that Simmo commented that 'one never knows when a shell may come'.
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