WILLIAMS, David
| Service Number: | 724 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 October 1916, Lismore |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Ballina, New South Wales, 20 March 1895 |
| Home Town: | North Creek, Ballina, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Died of wounds - Shrapnel wound left leg, France, 18 September 1918, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Roisel Communal Cemetery Extension, France Plot: I.I.13., Roisel Communal Cemetery Extension, Roisel, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lennox Head North Creek School Roll of Service |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 724, 41st Infantry Battalion, Lismore | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Jun 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 3rd Machine Gun Company | |
| 21 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 724, 3rd Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 724, 3rd Machine Gun Company, HMAT Suevic, Melbourne | |
| 29 Jan 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 6 May 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 4th Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 18 Sep 1918: | Involvement Private, 724, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 724 awm_unit: 4th Australian Machine Gun Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-09-18 |
Help us honour David Williams's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
A farmer from the Richmond River district of northern NSW, Private David Williams enlisted at Lismore in October 1916 and was assigned to the 7th reinforcements of the 41st Battalion AIF. His sister Henrietta was already overseas serving with the Army Nursing Service in France.
He was transferred to the 3rd Machine Gun Company and left Melbourne in the HMAT 'Suevic' in June 1917 for England. He was sent to the Salisbury Plains for training in August 1917 and then to France in February 1918.
Going into action in Belgium, he was part of the defence against the 1918 German Spring Offensive. Private Williams was involved in the Allies 100 Days Offensive with attacks on the Hindenberg Line that changed the tide of the war.
It was as part of such an attack on the Hindenberg Line Outposts near Vendelles on 18 September 1918 that Private David Williams was mortally wounded. Taken to the 3rd Field Ambulance with severe wounds to his left leg, he succumb to his injuries and was buried the next day near Hervilley with Rev. MJ Smith of the 7th Battalion officiating at the grave site. In January 1920, his remains were exumed and reintered nearby at Riosel Communal Cemetery Extension.
Click images to start slideshow.