Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William was the son of William LILLIA & Mary Therese O’DONNELL and was born on the 30th of September 1889 in Hindmarsh, SA.

His parents were married on the 13th of September 1883 in Hindmarsh, SA.

His father was the son of Henry LILLIA & Mary COONAY and was born on the 17th of January 1855 in Alberton, SA.
His mother was the daughter of Charles O’DONNELL & Annie MCNAMARA and was born on the 17th of March 1861 in Bungala, Yankailla, SA.

William was the fourth child born into this family of 9 children.

Williams grandfather; Henry LILLIA, was born in Newcross, Deptford, in 1810 and as a boy was apprenticed as a sailor and served his time trading to the West Indies.
He was one of the crew of the Resource which made a voyage to Sydney before South Australia was proclaimed a colony.
In Sydney he was paid off, and subsequently joined a whaler. Whilst engaged in whaling he made more than one visit to Encounter Bay.
He then joined a small vessel in Sydney called the Regia, and arrived at Port Adelaide in March, 1837.

Williams’s father was a fisherman and the family lived at 54 Queen Street, Alberton.

William went to school in Alberton and then gained employment as a labourer.

In July 1910 he joined the Hibernian Benefit Society and then joined the 10th Adelaide Rifles.

On the 3rd of March 1914 his brother Clement enlisted into the RAN as a stoker (3707) and later served on H.M.A.S. Melbourne and took part in operations in German New Guinea.

At the age of 25, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 26th of July 1915 in Keswick allotted the service number 3392 and posted to O Group, Base Infantry Depot in Exhibition Camp.

He was then posted to A Company, 3rd Depot Battalion and 2 weeks later he was posted to the 10th Battalion, 11th Reinforcements.
He was then transferred to the 10th Battalion, 12th Reinforcements on the 1st of November.

In mid November a farewell evening was tendered to William at the residence of Miss Ward, Angas Street and there were a large number of relations and friends present. The room was beautifully decorated with the ags of the Allie. Mr. W. Hoban toasted the 'King and Empire.' He wished William godspeed, and made reference to Williams brother Clement, who was serving on H.M.A.S. Melbourne.

William embarked from Adelaide on board RMS Malwa on the 2nd of December 1915 and after spending Christmas 1915 on board the ship, they disembarked in Pt Suez on the 11th of January 1916 and marched into the 3rd Training Battalion in Aerodrome Camp, Heliopolis.

He proceeded to France on the 28th of March and suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his right arm in July and evacuated to England.
He recovered and proceeded back to France in December 1916 and then suffered from scabies in January 1917.

He rejoined his Battalion in May and in November he was granted 2 weeks leave to England.
Then in July 1918 he suffered multiple Gun Shot Wounds to his right & left thigh, which fractured his left femur and was evacuated to England.
He was admitted into the Shepherd’s Bush Orthopaedic Hospital where he underwent surgery to fix his femur and was here when the Armistice was signed on the 11th of November 1918.

He never returned to France and embarked from England on the 5th of January 1919 on board HS Kanowna in the ships hospital.
He disembarked in Melbourne on the 26th of February and entrained to Adelaide the following day.

He returned to his parents at 54 Queen Street, Alberton and was discharged, medically unfit, from the 1st AIF on the 20th of May 1921.

In December 1925 William purchased a home at McInnis Street, Bristol (Semaphore Park)

William gained employment as a wharf labourer and married Alice Edith Grace HAINES on the 2nd of June 1926 in Mount Carmel Church, Pennington, SA.
Alice was the daughter of Charles William HAINES and was born in 1890 in Hawthorne, VIC.

They made their first home at McInnis Street, Bristol (Semaphore Park) and welcomed their first child; William Alexander, on the 30th of March 1927.
However, William was not present for the birth of William as 9 days earlier he was riding his bicycle near the Glandore Sugar Refinery when he was struck by a motor car and thrown onto the bonnet of the car.
He suffered a badly lacerated mouth and head injuries when he hit the windscreen and was admitted into the Pt Adelaide Casualty Hospital and then transferred to the Adelaide Hospital where he remained until the 9th of April.

The following year they welcomed little Edith Mary into the family on the 19th of May 1928.

In October 1939 they purchased a home at 12 Fourth Avenue, Mellor Park (Semaphore).

William died suddenly on the 2nd of October 1941 at his home in Forth Avenue, Mellor Park.

He was buried 2 days later in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section FX, Drive A, Path 30, Site Number 232N.

LILLIA—The friends of the late Mr. William Henry Lillia (late 10th Battalion A.I.F.) are respectfully informed that his funeral will leave his late residence, Fourth Ave, Mellor Park, on Saturday, at 11am for the Cheltenham Catholic Cemetery.
Len R. MOORE, Undertaker,

Military

At the age of 25, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 26th of July 1915 in Keswick allotted the service number 3392 and posted to O Group, Base Infantry Depot in Exhibition Camp.
He listed his mother, of Queen Street, Alberton, as his next of kin.
On the 16th of August he was posted to A Company, 3rd Depot Battalion and 2 weeks later he was posted to the 10th Battalion, 11th Reinforcements.
He was then transferred to the 10th Battalion, 12th Reinforcements on the 1st of November.

William embarked from Adelaide on board RMS Malwa on the 2nd of December 1915 and after spending Christmas 1915 on board the ship, they disembarked in Pt Suez on the 11th of January 1916 and marched into the 3rd Training Battalion in Aerodrome Camp, Heliopolis.

At this point in time the 10th Battalion were located at Habeita at the Suez Canal on defensive duty.

Here the Battalions of the 3rd Division were split to form the 4th Division, with each Battalion sending 500 men.
The sister Battalion to the 10th Battalion was now the 50th Battalion.
William joined the 10th Battalion when they moved to Aerodrome Camp at Serapeum and soon the Battalion was at full strength once again.
On the 28th of March they embarked from Alexandria on board RMS Saxonia and disembarked in Marseilles on the 2nd of April.
They were then entrained for 3 days through some of the most beautiful parts of France, a revelation in freshness and beauty after the barren plains of Egypt, and they billeted in the vicinity of Strazeele.

Here they spent time in training and instruction in the new kind of gas helmet and after 2 weeks they moved to Sailly on the 20th of April and into billets at Rouge-de-Bout for training.
Five days later was the anniversary of the Gallipoli landing and the original men of the Battalion struggled with memories both pleasant and otherwise.

On the 6th of June they moved into the Petillion Sector and went into the front line in France for the first time.
They remained here for the rest of the month and twice during their time here the gas alarms sounded, but fortunately no gas came. Though at times the artillery fire on both sides was fairly heavy, the sector was a quiet one and they only received 25 casualties for the month.
They were relieved on the 28th of June and marched via Le Verrie and Oultersteen to billets near Moolenacker, where they began training.

On the 9th of July they marched to Mont des Cats and the following day they marched 2 miles to the Godewaersvelde railway station and entrained to Doullens, which they reached on the 11th.
They then marched 11 miles though Candas, Montrelet and Canaples to Halloy and the following day they marched 4 miles to Naours.
Here they trained for 4 days and then moved to Herissart for 2 days and then marched through Forceville to Albert.

On the 20th of July they marched to Sausage Valley and 2 days later they moved through Black Watch Alley to support the 9th Battalion in the attack on Pozieres.
On the morning of the 23rd the 9th Battalion met strong opposition and the 10th Battalion was sent to assist under machine gun fire.
After 3 days without sleep and without food, apart from what they carried, the firing around them was deafening and unbearable.
The trenches had now become mere shell holes of churned and beaten soil.
Buried, dug out, gassed and tired they continued until the until the 25th of July when William suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his right arm and was admitted into the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station at Puchevillers.

The following day he was transferred to the 13th General Hospital in Boulogne and on the 28th of July William was evacuated to England on board HS Jan Breydal and admitted into the General Military Hospital at Sobraon Barracks in Colchester.
William spent the next 2 months here recovering and was discharged to duty to the 3rd Training Battalion in Perham Downs on the 26th of September.
After a further 10 weeks here, William proceeded back to France on the 14th of December on board HMT Princess Henrietta and marched into the 1st ADBD (Australian Division Base Depot) in Etaples.

William rejoined his Battalion on the 21st of December at Bazentin House Camp, near Longueval and they spent Christmas 1916 here on fatigue duty.
On New Years Day 1917 they moved to Hobart Camp and then marched to Dernancourt 6 days later for training.
On the 14th they moved to Brestle for training, before moving to Albert where William billeted at Fricourt Farm.

Whilst here, William suffered from scabies on the 26th of January and was admitted into a Field Ambulance and then transferred to the 1st Australian Receiving Station.
On the 9th of February he was transferred to the 5th Dressing Station and 8 days later transferred to the 5th Casualty Clearing Station at Bray-sur-Somme.
He was then transferred by No.11 Ambulance Train to the 1st General Hospital in Wimereux and diagnosed with Furunculosis (Boils).
He spent 3 weeks here before he was transferred to the 4th Convalescent Depot on the 14th of March and then on the 28th of April he was medically classified A (fit for active service) and discharged to the 1st ADBD in Etaples.

William rejoined his Battalion on the 14th of May in camp, near Bapaume in training and they marched to Ribemont on the 23rd.
They spent all of June here in advanced training and then entrained at Albert on the 26th of July to Skienbecke and marched to Staple.
Their next move was to Seninghem on the 30th of July for further training and they remained in the area for the following 2 months and enjoyed the benefits of a spell.

Early in September it became known that an attack was to be made on Passchendale Ridge to gain the high ground dominating Ypres and the section allotted to the Battalion was in the vicinity of Nonne Boschen and Polygon Wood.
On the 13th of September they left and worked their way forward via Caestre, the Connaught Lines, Cornwall Camp and then onto Chateau Segard where final preparations were made.
They left Chateau Segard on the night of the 19th, reached the assembly tape and formed up into position.
So opened for them the Third Battle of Ypres which was a gruelling campaign fought in the Ypres Salient in Belgium, in horrific conditions of mud and relentless shelling.
After this attack they moved to Steenvoorde for a weeks rest before moving back to hold the line whilst the 1st Brigade passed through.
The 1st Brigade advanced on the 4th of October and by midday they had captured thousands of prisoners.

And now came the worst part of all for the 10th Battalion as they relieved the 1st Brigade and had to face the counter attacks of the enemy.
Here at the front was only two or three main roads over which was possible to take traffic and they were shelled day and night.
Whole teams of wagons were killed and had to be dragged out of the way and the vehicles pushed into the mud to allow the living to pass. Horses, dead and mangled, lay many to the yard and gun wagons, limbers and ambulances by the hundred were found in more or less whole condition along the tracks.

In the fighting in October and November they won the high ground and the Ridge was theirs. But the cost was devastating as in 20 days the 10th Battalion alone lost nearly 500 men.
On the 4th of November William was granted 2 weeks leave to England and when he rejoined his Battalion they were at Bezinghem in specialist training.
They then relieved the 31st Battalion on the 16th of December in the line at Messines.
They were relieved on Christmas morning 1917 and trudged wearily back to their dugout and shelters at Wulverghem.

January 1918 passed in this area and during the month they were transferred to the Wytschaete area.
On the 31st of January they moved to Aldershot Camp and by the time they had reached camp they were chilled to the bone as they had entrained on open trucks in the ice cold.
Here they were engaged as fatigue parties and enjoyed a month’s spell and on the 16th of February they celebrated Christmas Day which they had been unable to do.
Tourni Camp was their next move before they left on the 1st of March and went into the front line in the Hollebeke Sector, where they remained until the beginning of April.

It was here in March that the enemy, known to be holding a huge reserve of troops, released from the Russian front, was expected to attack and as they were being relieved a raid of about 150 enemy raided their front line. They managed to repel the attack but on the 21st of March the enemy attacked on an unparalleled scale with 40 Divisions on a 50 mile front at the Somme and by the 27th they had reached Albert, having captured about 50,000 prisoners and 600 guns.

By the 6th of April William and the 10th Battalion were in reserve in the Poulanville area and the enemy launched their second attack and the 10th entrained to Vieux Berquin and marched to Hazebrouck to support the 1st Division near Borre.
They dug in at the rear of Dieppe Forest but were never called upon to defen their position.
For the next 3 months they were in the area to the right of Strazeele and Merris and here on the 1st of July William suffered from Gingivitis and was admitted into the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance and transferred to the 1st Australian Dressing Station for 15 days.
On the night of the 29th of July they launched an attack on Merris and William suffered from multiple Gun Shot Wounds to his right & left thigh, which fractured his left femur.
He was admitted into the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance and transferred to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Blendeques.
After being stabilized William was transferred by No. 27 Ambulance Train on the 8th of August and admitted into the 8th Stationary Hospital in Wimereux.
On the 20th he was evacuated to England and admitted into the Shepherd’s Bush Orthopaedic Hospital.

Here he underwent surgery on his femur and after nearly 3 months recovering he was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Dartford on the 9th of December where he spent Christmas 1918.

William embarked from England on the 5th of January 1919 on board HS Kanowna in the ships hospital.
He disembarked in Melbourne on the 26th of February and entrained to Adelaide the following day.

William was discharged, medically unfit, from the 1st AIF on the 20th of May 1921 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.