William James Kendall HARVEY

Badge Number: S8450, Sub Branch: Brighton
S8450

HARVEY, William James Kendall

Service Number: 1060
Enlisted: 16 September 1914, Morphettville, South Australia
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1)
Born: Parkside, South Australia, 20 January 1894
Home Town: Adelaide, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Journalist (Adelaide Advertiser)
Died: Natural causes, Adelaide, South Australia, 7 July 1962, aged 68 years
Cemetery: Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia
Memorials: Parkside Public School Roll of Honor, Unley Town Hall WW1 Honour Board
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World War 1 Service

16 Sep 1914: Enlisted AIF WW1, Morphettville, South Australia
22 Dec 1914: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1060, 4th Field Ambulance, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: ''
22 Dec 1914: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1060, 4th Field Ambulance, HMAT Berrima, Melbourne
11 Nov 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1060, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1)
29 Jan 1920: Discharged AIF WW1

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Biography

"A SOLDIER'S LETTER. The following are extracts from letters sent by Pte. W.J.K. Harvey, B Section, 4th Field Ambulance, to his parents at Parkside: —

''I suppose you have been anxious the last week or so, as the mail from Malta is rather irregular, and it may be intervals of a fortnight before you hear from me. I am expecting to be sent back at any moment now, and I will not be sorry in a way, as I have seen all I can at Malta. Of course, all your letters have been forwarded to the Dardanelles, so I have not heard from Australia now for about six weeks. There are about ____ wounded and sick soldiers here, and hospital ships are arriving every few days. They were among the first lot to get wounded, and are just able to get about now. I suppose you have had many sent back to Australia. There are many here who are being sent to England and thence to France. I thought I stood a chance of going as well, but my luck was out. There is a large number of Australians in London. My pal, whom I have chummed up with since I have been here, is a Lancashire Territorial. He is very anxious to go to Australia after the war, and vows he will get there even if he has to work his passage over. You know they like the Australians; they like our free and easy ways, so they tell us. I am enclosing a bullet that very nearly caught me one night at the Dardanelles. I was bringing a Turk down from one of the trenches just after a charge about 11.30 p.m. Bullets were lodging all around us, shrapnel whizzing overhead, and the place illuminated, with the glare of bombs, &c. The Turk, who was about 17 stone in weight, was on a stretcher. This bullet came with a crack and lodged in the handle of the stretcher that I had hold of, just missing me by a fraction of an inch. It is an explosive bullet. The same Turk was so grateful that he gave us a coin that he had on him, the only thing of any value that he had. I am also enclosing this."

"You will, no doubt, be greatly surprised to hear that I am still in Malta, and still more surprised to learn that I have not yet received a letter from home. I presume my letters are being directed all over the globe. I am pretty well tired of Malta, and anxious to get a move on. Of course you have had full accounts long before this of the casualties among the Australians in their recent advance at Gaba Tepe. Hospital ships are arriving daily here containing those wounded in the big advance that they paid so dearly for. They said it was terrible, and I can imagine what an inferno it must have been, similar to when we first landed, which I shall never forget as long as I live. I suppose you watch carefully the lists of casualties, &c. that are published, and have noticed that many more of my section have been wounded or killed. The weather here is terribly hot just now, and continues so until up to about October, when the rain starts, and I believe it comes down pretty heavily. The postal arrangements in connection with the Mediterranean force are simply shocking. I expect, however, to receive all my letters in a big batch. It will soon be 12 months since I enlisted — September 16. We must have had some narrow escapes coming backwards and forwards in those seas. Fruit is plentiful in Malta just now. Grapes are in abundance, and, my word, don't the English Tommies get into them. Festivals galore are being held in Malta just now. It is a Roman Catholic place, and they have some magnificent churches. It is such a quaint place. Of an evening one can hear the jingle of bells caused by herds of goats, and all the cab horses have bells attached. The milkman goes from door to door with his herd of goats, and the woman will come to the door with the jug. The milkman then milks the goat at the door." - from the Adelaide Mail 23 Oct 1915 (nla.gov.au)

 

"PRIVATE W. J. K. HARVEY.

Private W. J. K. Harvey, 4th Field Ambulance, who was recently reported injured, has cabled to his parents that he is an inmate of Eastleigh Hospital, near Southampton. His many friends in Adelaide will learn with pleasure that he is making a rapid recovery. Private Harvey was formerly a member of "The Advertiser" literary staff." - from the Adelaide Advertiser 27 Oct 1915 (nla.gov.au)

 

 

 

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