GRAHAM, William Andrew
| Service Number: | 320 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 January 1915, Oaklands, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melrose, South Australia, 22 May 1894 |
| Home Town: | Hamley Bridge, Light, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of Illness (Broncho-Pneumonia), Red Sea (HMAT Geelong), At sea (Red Sea (HMAT Geelong)), 29 June 1915, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Buried at sea, Chatby Memorial, Alexandria, Egypt |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Chatby Memorial, Alexandria, Egypt, Hamley Bridge District WW1 Roll of Honor, Hamley Bridge War Memorial, Melrose School Roll of Honour, Melton War Memorial, Owen District Roll of Honor WW1 |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Oaklands, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 31 May 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 320, 27th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' |
|
| 31 May 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 320, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 27th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 27th Infantry Battalion |
A burial at sea
Written by Reginald James (Jim) Godfrey - 3985, 7th Field Ambulance - in a private 1962 memoir titled, 'To ANZAC and After'.
News came that a friend of mine was in hospital seriously ill. Everyday I would visit him. I remember how he would try and sit u to look out of the port hole, trying to get a glimpse of the sea, little knowing that he would soon find rest beneath the restless waves.
Although he was well attended to, he died early as the grey of a forge in sky gave way to the rising of a brilliant sun.
It was agreed that he should be buried in the evening the same day. As a friend, I was chosen to be a member of the burial party. (I also managed to get Grandpa Keast* included).
How vividly I remember going to the stern of the boat where the ceremony was to take place. There were only a few of us to mourn his going beside the Champlain. The body of my friend was sown in stout sail canvas with fire-irons set at his feet.
At a given word, we lifted the body of my friend from the deck to the taffrail. Slowly and solemnly the burial service was read. At the words, "We commit him to the deep," at a given signal, the great engines stopped, and we tilted the plank, and into the great dark waters dropped the body of my friend - the first to man to die in the 27th Battalion.
Then the engines started to throb again, the shuddering boat rolled and dipped, then pursued its way deeper into the night.
Here are a few lines I wrote whilst watching my friend before he died. It was later printed in the Anzac Magazine.
Billy Graham.
..................
Dying - but in ever stir
Fighting Death, the arbiter;
As the hours go slowly by;
Ever fearless comes no sigh;
Lips are firm and teeth are set;
Yet there comes not one regret;Cheeks are pale and eyes are dim,
Yet no murmur comes from him.
Submitted 18 April 2018 by Tom Stafford
Biography
Father Richard A Graham and Mother Edith Ann Graham (nee Bacon)
living at Hamley Bridge, South Australia.
Described on enlisting as 20 years 8 months; single; 5' 8" tall; 10 stone 10 lbs;
fair complexion; blue eyes; fair hair; Methodist.
26/1/1915 Enlisted at Oaklands
10/2/1915 Completed medical - fit for service
Placed in Oaklands Camp
31/5/1915 Embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A2 Geelong.
26/6/1915 Transferred from isolation (after suffering from measles) on board HMAT A2
Geelong to the General Hospital
29/6/1915 Following an attack of measles, William developed broncho-pneumonia and
died during the voyage through the Red Sea (aged 21 years 2 month).
29/6/1915 Private Graham was buried at sea.
He is commemorated at the Chatby Memorial, Alexandria, Egypt (within the Chatby Military
Cemetery).
Medals:
British War medal (13163); Memorial Plaque and Memorial Scroll (313539)
Sourced and submited by Julianne T Ryan. 8/11/2014. Lest we forget.
Click images to start slideshow.