ANTHONY, William
| Service Number: | 6385 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 June 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Napier, New Zealand, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Warwick, Southern Downs, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Cab proprietor |
| Died: | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia , 6 August 1975, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Woden (Canberra) Public Cemetery, ACT Plot H-EX-X-190 |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Warwick War Memorial Gates |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6385, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 6385, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 6385, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William Anthony was from Warwick, Queensland, married to Elsie Emily, with two small children when he enlisted in May 1916.
He joined the 15th Battalion on the Western Front during January 1917. It was a bitterly cold winter, with “driving bitter winds, snow-frozen ground, and sharp frosts”
On 1 February 1917, near Gueudecourt, the 15th Battalion attacked a section of the German front line known as Stormy Trench. The party consisted of 150 men and six officers, or one and half companies. The attack started at about 7.00 p.m. on a frontage of 500 metres. Although the enemy trenches were only 100 metres from the Australian lines, inadequate artillery support and poor overall planning caused the attack to fail. A German counter attack at 11 p.m. was beaten off. In the face of relentless German shelling of the captured trenches, and a stronger German counter attack at 4.30 a.m. the Battalion was forced to retire. Although 52 German soldiers were captured, the 15th Battalion’s casualties were 38 men killed, over 20 captured by the Germans and over 80 wounded.
William was one of the captured soldiers, having suffered a shattered left hip from a hand grenade. According to German reports, he was taken to hospital in Cambrai. He was a prisoner of war in Germany until after the armistice, arriving back in England on 4 January 1919. He was returned to Australia four months later.
His eldest son, born in 1914, NX68451 Private Aubrey William Anthony 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion, was killed in action in Papua New Guinea, on 21 November 1942.
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