HILL, Willoughby Ernest
| Service Number: | 6770 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 July 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lambton, New South Wales, Australia, 24 February 1890 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith's striker |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 4 October 1917, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6770, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 6770, 8th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Port Napier embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 17 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 6770, 8th Infantry Battalion, SS Port Napier, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Willoughby Ernest HILL (Service Number 6770) was born on 24th February 1890 in Newcastle, NSW. He commenced his career with the Railways on 2nd June 1913 as a blacksmith's striker at Eveleigh in the Locomotive Branch. He remained in this position until 21st July 1916 when he enlisted in the AIF,at the age of 26.
He embarked from Sydney on the SS ‘Port Napier’ on 17th November 1916 and disembarked at Devonport (England) on 29th January 1917. He went to France on 3rd May 1917 and joined the 8th Australian Infantry Battalion on 21st May 1917.
He was killed in action, on 4th October 1917. He was in the field in Belgium when he died. He was 27. One firsthand account of his death details, ‘on the 4th October, we went over at Passchendaele, and about an hour after… I saw Hill lying in a shell hole’. Some of his peers buried him close to where he died, and ‘a temporary cross was erected at the time’. The location of his grave could not be located later, and he is commemorated at Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium.
Though he listed a friend as his next of kin, his personal effects and medals ended up going to his eldest brother following his death. The distribution of medals was governed by its own set of rules, not dependent on a written will, or nomination of next of kin. Hill’s brother was sent the British War Medal and the Victory Medal to commemorate his sibling’s service.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board