90496
FAIRLIE, William Thomas
| Service Number: | 1218 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 57th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Gilles Street Primary School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 14 March 1929, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (AIF Section) |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Gilles Street Primary School WW1 Honour Board (Original) |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 1218, 9th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 1218, 9th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Star of England, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 1218, 57th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour William Thomas Fairlie's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
William Thomas Fairlie grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, and attended Gilles Street Primary School. In his schooling years, William was sent to Magill Reformatory in 1913 for stealing and escaped in January of 1914. He was found on October 15th when he was charged for using bad language and was locked in a cell on the 16th. However, with assistance, William escaped by cutting the wire gauze on the cell window using a plumber’s shear and then climbing out the window using a twisted bedsheet. He was recaptured on the 26th of October and charged with one month detention for bad language and an extra two years for absconding from the reformatory.
Before enlisting, William worked as a labourer. He enlisted on 20th of April 1915, when he was 18 years and 4 months old. His mother Jane Fairlie was listed as his next of kin.
On 21st September, his unit embarked from Adelaide boarding the ship, HMAT A15 “Star of England” to Egypt. In December of 1915, he was shifted between several locations training at military camps. On the 1st of January 1916, he trained at Heliopolis and on 14th of May 1916, he was transferred to the Artillery Detail located at Tel-El-Kabir, Egypt for further training.
William went to the hospital numerous times. From 19th of May to 11th of July 1916 he was admitted to hospital for having an infectious disease. On the 12th of July 1916, he was transferred to Army Train Depot to continue training. William was admitted to Hospital from the 10th to 30th of September 1916, 17th of February to 21st of March 1917 after contracting disease and 23rd of April to 22nd of May 1917.
On the 27th of May 1917, he proceeded from England to France to reinforce the 57th Battalion and on 28th of June 1917 he joined the battalion as a private. William’s first battle would’ve been the Third Battle of Ypres. On 12th of September while training at camp, he was sent to hospital with the Flu and returned to duty four days later. The battalion served in the front lines two times. From 25th to 27th of September, the battalion entered the battle near Glencorse before withdrawing from the front line and moving to Dickebusch. They served in the frontline again on 25th of October, where the fought in the trenches at Broodseinde. There were heavy bombs and gas shelling, and at night-time on the 27th, they moved out of the front line to Devonshire camp. The battalion also served the support line near Ypres from 13th to 16th October.
William fought in the German Spring Offensive from 1st of March 1918 to 31st of May 1918. From 30th of March the 57th battalion helped defend the Corbie area in France. On 13th of April the battalion moved to a Reserve line in Aubigny which got shelled many times on the 17th of April. Unfortunately, William was gassed in this very active shelling and was admitted to L. of C. Hospital in France on the 19th. On the 23rd he was transferred to 2nd Southern Gen. Hospital in Birmingham and then transferred to Harefield hospital on the 16th of May. On 4th of June, William returned from Sutton Veny and was classified as B1 A3, meaning that he was fit for limited duties, and is not able to serve at the frontlines anymore. not fit to serve at the frontlines anymore. On 22nd of June, he was transferred to No.1 Command Depot, Sutton Veny.
From 14th of July to 21st of August 1918 William was illegally absent which resulted in a sentence of 70 days Field Punishment No. 2. on 5th of September. On 22nd of September, he returned to France and re-joined 57th Battalion on 30th. His poor health continued to affect his duties, and he was admitted to the hospital multiple times. From the 2nd to 7th of October for feeling ill, the 8th to 16th due to scabies and the 20th of October to 11th of November with no diagnosis. On the 11th of November he was sent to Base Depot in Le Havre, but he was readmitted to the hospital from 22nd to 27th of November. On the 27th he returned to the Australia Intermediate Base depot.
From 14th of December 1918, William was illegally absent until he was captured from military police on 25th of January 1919. He was handed over to an escort but then escaped. He was found on 16th of February 1919, when he was admitted to 39 General Hospital and received no recorded diagnosis. On 21st of February he was transferred to England and one day later he was admitted to hospital after contracting an infection disease and was transferred to another hospital on the 10th of March. On the 9th he was discharged from Command depot due to his urethritis catarrh.
On 10th of April 1919, William was sent back to Australia as he was medically unfit for any service in the military. He continued working as a labourer however he soon got caught up in crimes. On 26th of July 1920, William was sentenced for unlawful possession and on November 10th, he was charged with stealing a bike. In 1921 he was charged with indecent language, breach of the Lottery and Gaming Act in 1922 and being a suspected person in 1925. On 30th of March 1926, William was sent imprisonment for life for assault and robbery however on 17th of April it was reduced to three years. In October 1928, William was sent to two months in jail for vagrancy and in February 1929, he was accused of stealing money and valuables. On the 2nd of March, while in a fight on North Terrace, his head was injured allegedly with a bottle. He went to hospital on 11th of March however it was too late and on 14th of March 1929, he passed in Adelaide Hospital , aged 32. William is buried at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia.