MANUEL, William Owen
| Service Number: | 124 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 December 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Stockport, South Australia, 10 October 1866 |
| Home Town: | Wild Horse Plains, Mallala, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of Illness, London, England, United Kingdom, 24 December 1916, aged 50 years |
| Cemetery: |
Melcombe Regis Cemetery, Dorset, England |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Dublin War Memorial, Mallala Wild Horse Plains Roll of Honour, Prospect Roll of Honour A-G WWI Board |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 124, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 124, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 24 Dec 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 124, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 124 awm_unit: 10 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-12-24 |
Help us honour William Owen Manuel's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography
"THE LATE PRIVATE W. O. MANUEL.
Private W. O. Manuel, who died in the Sydney Hall Military Hospital, London, on December 24, 1916, enlisted on December 13, 1915, and left South Australia on June 9. He left England for France on September 13, and was admitted to the County Middlesex Hospital on November 8. Previous to enlisting he lived at Prospect for about two years. He had been engaged in farming at Wild Horse Plains, Bordertown, and Murrayville. A widow, one son, and two daughters are left." - from the Adelaide Chronicle 13 Jan 1917 (nla.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Cathy Sedgwick
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland”
Died on this date – 24th December…… William Owen Manuel was born at Stockport, South Australia on 10th October, 1866.
He married Elizabeth Florence Webb on 20th May, 1890 in South Australia at the residence of C. Webb, Dublin, South Australia. A son - Ernest Owen Manuel was born on 24th March, 1891. A daughter – Olive Blanche Manuel was born on 21st May, 1893 at Wild Horse Plains, South Australia. A daughter – Ivy Jane Manuel was born on 12th September, 1896 at Wild Horse Plains, South Australia.
On 18th December, 1915 William Owen Manuel enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) stating he was a 45 year old, married (no children – as listed on Attestation Papers), Labourer from Hudson Street, Prospect, South Australia.
Private William Owen Manuel, Service number 124, embarked from Adelaide, South Australia on HMAT Afric (A19) on 9th June, 1916 (Casualty Form – Active Service recorded he embarked from Outer Harbour on 9th June, 1916) with the 11th Infantry Brigade, 43rd Infantry Battalion “A” Company. He was admitted to Ship’s Hospital while at Sea on 16th June, 1916. Private Manuel disembarked at Marseilles*, France on 20th July, 1916. (Note: * as recorded on Casualty Form – Active Service. There appears to be an error in reporting that this soldier disembarked at Marseilles. From Australia – soldiers (from around 1916) were sent to England first for further training. The next recorded movement after 20th July, 1916 on Casualty Form is 16th September, 1916 where he proceeded overseas to France from England).
Reinforcements were only given basic training in Australia. Training was completed in training units in England. Some of these were located in the Salisbury Plain & surrounding areas in the county of Wiltshire.
He was marched in to 3rd Training Battalion from 43rd Battalion on 9th September, 1916. Private Manuel was transferred to 10th Battalion on 9th September, 1916 from No. 12 Camp, Larkhill, Wiltshire, England.
On 16th September, 1916 Private Manuel proceeded overseas to France to join 10th Battalion from 3rd Training Battalion in England. He was marched in to 1st A.D.B.D. at Etaples, France on 17th September, 1916 from England. Private Manuel proceeded from 1st A.D.B.D. on 30th September, 1916 to join his Battalion. He joined 10th Battalion in the Field on 2nd October, 1916 from Reinforcements.
Private Manuel was written up for an Offence on 12th October, 1916 in the Field – “Whilst on Active Service having a dirty rifle when mounting guard at 17.00 on 12/10/16.” He was awarded 7 days confined to Barracks.
He reported sick on 16th October, 1916 & was admitted to 10th Stationary Hospital at St. Omer, France. He was transferred to Boulogne on 5th November, 1916 with Pyrexia (fever of unknown origin) & embarked for England the same day on Hospital Ship Jan Breydel.
On 8th November, 1916 Private Manuel was admitted to the County of Middlesex War Hospital for observation – severe. He was transferred on 20th November, 1916 to 1st (Australian) Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, Middlesex with Trench Feet. Private Manuel was discharged to Weymouth on 23rd November, 1916 after Trench Fever. (Statement of Service form recorded he was marched into No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth on 22nd November, 1916 from Harefield Hospital).
Private Manuel was Boarded on 6th December, 1916. Finding:- “Permanently unfit for General Service but fit for Home service.”
He reported sick to Sidney Hall Military Hospital, Weymouth on 21st December, 1916 from No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth, Dorset, England.
Private William Owen Manuel died at 8.45 am on 24th December, 1916 at Sidney Hall Military Hospital, Weymouth, Dorset, England from double Pneumonia & Cardiac Failure. (Hospital Admissions form recorded he died at 8.35 am)
He was buried in Melcombe Regis Cemetery, Weymouth, Dorset, England where 82 other WW1 Australian War Graves are located.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/m.html
Click images to start slideshow.