ERWIN, William Matthew
| Service Number: | 1339 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 November 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, 26 November 1896 |
| Home Town: | Armidale, Armidale Dumaresq, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | St Marys Boys School, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 17 October 1917, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Plot XXI, Row II, Grave No. 17A. |
| Memorials: | Armidale Memorial Fountain |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Nov 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1339, 13th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1339, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1339, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William Matthew Erwin enlisted in 1914 from Armidale, New South Wales. He joined the 13th Battalion on Gallipoli from five days after the landing on 25 April 1915. He was evacuated with a ‘crook knee’ during August 1915.
William rejoined the 13th Battalion before it went to the Western Front early in 1916. In August 1917 he met his brother Arthur Erwin in the front lines. He was eventually mortally wounded on 17 October 1917 when as a stretcher bearer he was hit by shrapnel fragments on a duckboard track near Polygon Wood. He was only weeks short of his 21st birthday.
His older brother, 3041 Pte. Arthur Albert Erwin 34th Battalion AIF, died of wounds five months later on 31 March 1918, aged 29. They were the sons of William John and Rose Erwin of Armidale, New South Wales.