14891
SHANNON, William Francis
| Service Numbers: | 2575, 2757 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 September 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Port Adelaide, South Australia, 12 October 1885 |
| Home Town: | Norwood (SA), South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | St Leonards, Adeliade, 15 September 1935, aged 49 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Sep 1917: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 2575, 13th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1917: | Involvement Private, 2575, 13th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1917: | Embarked Private, 2575, 13th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Driver, 2575 | |
| 18 Aug 1919: | Discharged Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 2757, Arrived in Port Melbourne | |
| 30 Aug 1919: | Transferred Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 5th Field Artillery Brigade |
Help us honour William Francis Shannon'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 Francis Shannon was born in the town of Port Adelaide on the 12th of October 1885. Before the war Shannon was a single man with no children with the occupation of a butcher. With the influence of Shannon’s parents, Patrick Shannon and Jane Mary Ifould, the 31-year-old man signed up for war. It was 10th of September 1917, when Shannon enlisted, he was a 5 foot 7 with fair complexion, brown eyes and black hair. William travelled from his home (160 William Street Norwood), to enlist in Broadmeadows, Melbourne. With William’s younger brother already at war, William was eager to get over. William’s younger brother Arthur Henry Shannon embarked on his journey to war when he was only 23 in the year of 1916.
With no previous experience in military services, William was given the service number 2575, ranked as a private and off he went. William Francis Shannon, embarked on his journey on the 22nd of December 1917. The HMAT Ulysses A38 was the boat on which William travelled from Melbourne to war on.
Over January and February William travelled through the Suez Canal to Southampton by the HMAT Ulysses A38. While he spent multiple months in Southampton he may have been participating in training leading up to his battle. William proceeded overseas to France in August 1918. He may have fought in Rouelles, France in August 1818. William began his journey in the 13th Light Horse Regiment, 22nd Reinforcement but was taken on strength into the 5th Australian Divisional Ammunition Column in late August. This column was focused on artillery and William became a gunner. William was once again taken on strength and appointed as driver not long after in September 1918.
William entered the Tidworth Military Hospital not long into his journey at war, on the 22nd of February 1918 and was sick with influenza for nine days. He left the hospital on the 2nd of March. On the 11th of April William returned to hospital, he stayed in hospital for 25 days, with his date of discharge being the 5th of May 1919.
William arrived back in Port Melbourne on the 18th of August 1919, as this was not his hometown he caught a train back to Adelaide. He arrived back in Adelaide and was discharged in September 1919.
After the war William found a wife and created a family; Eileen Charlotte Wise and William Francis Shannon were married in St Pauls Church on the 9th of April 1927. Together they had a child named Barbra Alice Shannon, she was born on the 6th of March 1928. William passed away on the 15th of September 1935, at the age of 49.
William Francis Shannon received 3 medals for his service at war; Victory Medal, British War medal and a Star. He showed the ANZAC spirit through being a committed, loyal and encouraging soldier.
Bibliography:
Australian War Memorial:
Private William Francis Shannon 2016, Australian War Memorial, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10639552>.
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10639552
National Archives of Australia:
Discovering ANZACS 2018, National Archives of Australia, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/366259>.
RSL Virtual War Memorial:
RSL Virtual War Memorial 2018, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au>.
The AIF project:
William Francis Shannon 2016, UNSW Australia, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=271294>
Trove:
Trove 2017, National Library Of Australia, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://trove.nla.gov.au/article/result?q>.
Pearson Places History:
Van Tol, D 2016, Pearson History, Rachel Ford, Australia.
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