William LORRAINE

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LORRAINE, William

Service Number:	3658
Enlisted:	6 June 1917, Place of Enlistment, Cairns, Queensland.
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	52nd Infantry Battalion
Born:	Hambledon, Queensland, Australia , 27 September 1900
Home Town:	Cairns, Cairns, Queensland
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Farm Labourer
Died:	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia , 31 May 1966, aged 65 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery:	South Brisbane Cemetery, Queensland
Memorials:

World War 1 Service

6 Jun 1917:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3658, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Place of Enlistment, Cairns, Queensland.
31 Oct 1917:	Involvement Private, 3658, 52nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: ''
31 Oct 1917:	Embarked Private, 3658, 52nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney
17 Jun 1918:	Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3658, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Medically Unfit due to Illness.

Private William Lorraine.

Private William Lorraine, 52nd Infantry Battalion, 10th Reinforcements. William LORRAINE was born in Hambeldon, near Cairns in June 1901 and was employed as a farm labourer when he first volunteered to serve with the first AIF early in 1916, just 15 years old.

He was rejected on the basis of his heritage ie. ‘half-caste’ but in June 1917, after the ‘colour’ restrictions were lifted, he re-enlisted and in June 1917 was accepted (still underage). With no living parents or stated guardian he nominated his friend Mary Binnie as his next-of-kin.

Lorraine trained initially at Rifle Range Camp, Enoggera which is where his portrait would have been taken, it was published in The Queenslander Pictorial, 8 September 1917. He left Australia in October 1917, on board HMAT Euripides with the 10th Reinforcements for the 52nd Infantry Battalion, it was reported in the newspaper of the day that we was to be a bugler.

Lorraine became unwell on the journey and was admitted to the ships hospital for almost 4 weeks of the voyage. Upon arrival in England, William Lorraine was admitted to the military hospital at Sutton Veny seriously ill with Influenza, and not long after was diagnosed with Mumps.

Private Lorraine was discharged from hospital, but was readmitted in March, again with Influenza. After being discharged to convalesce at the Weymouth Camp, Lorraine was declared medically unfit in May 1918. Suffering from an anaemic condition he was returned to Australia and medically discharged.

Electoral records show that William Lorraine remained in the Brisbane area when he regained his health, and worked in various positions as a labourer and cook, until his death in 1956. He married Florence Annie Anderson in 1934, the same year that he joined the Commonwealth Militia Forces; he also served during the Second World War.
Courtesy of The State Library of Queensland.

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