Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

This is a rough outline of my life, and experiences.*

*A transcript of a talk given at the East Malvern RSL date unknown but probably in the 1950’s.

I was born on 30th. September 1890, and was the last of seven.

I was educated at the Hyde Street Footscray State School, until 1904. I received Merit Certificate, and a gold medal as dux of the School. Being proficient in Short-hand and Typewriting by lessons taken privately after school hours, I secured a position in a Solicitors Office, at the age of 14 years, where I learned how to apply my knowledge in a practical way. By taking lessons at lunch time and after office hours, I passed Matriculation examination

which qualified me to study to be a Solicitor, but I never reached that stage. The firm was Blake and Riggall, the biggest law firm then and still is. There were 6 partners and a staff of about 65. At the present time, included in their staff are 40 Solicitors.

I enlisted in the first world war early in 1915, and proceeded to Seymour Camp, where after a short period I gained one stripe. Shortly after that I was selected to be trained at an Officers' Training School at Broadmeadows, and passed all examinations to be promoted to the rank of second Lieutenant.

I was transferred to Royal Park Camp where there were hundreds of raw recruits, waiting to be trained. Capt. Evans of Ballarat and I were allotted about 300 grand fellows, mainly country men from the north of Victoria. When fully training was completed we selected 200 men, equipped them, had them photographed, and took them overseas as the 14th  Reinforcements to the 23rd. Battalion AIF. The sea trip was uneventful, and we reached Salisbury Plains, England.

Sad to relate, I was detached from my unit, so that I could be the Officer in Charge of actual musketry practice at the Butts. About 4 days in every week for some months I marched about 150 to 200

men to and from the Butts. There was a Major who rode his horse along-side the column apparently to keep the men moving. One day on the way back to camp, we had to march into a strong wind, and

as usual this Major on his horse amused himself riding up and down. When he was half-way down the column, he called out an order to stop. A large number of the column kept going, not having heard the order because of the force of the wind into which we were marching. The Major galloped up and excitably roared me up in front of the troops. I explained the reason why we had not heard him.
When I arrived back with the troops, I sought an interview with

the Colonel in charge of the Camp. After I had explained to the Colonel what happened, he called the Major to his office. I got

great satisfaction in listening to the Colonel telling that Major off, and demanding that he immediately apologise to me, which he did to my satisfaction.

After about six months, I was detailed to take reinforcements to the 23rd. Battalion in France, my original unit. My Company Commander was Col. Dick Moss, who upon his return to Australia he became a Councilor of the Malvern Council, and he was

a member of the East Malvern R.S.L. a man who was liked by everybody.   Unfortunately Dick Moss died many years ago.

When I re-joined my Unit , there was nothing but crude shallow trenches. I allotted myself a job of improving the trenches, and put up an office for the Commanding Officer. to do this I detailed a squad of men to beg, borrow or steal, any Battalion Lorry and horse and we would, without asking permission from anybody, bring back trialg from the nearest village, in the rear, a load of timber so that we could build a shelter in the trenches. The timber we would get was mainly heavy railway sleepers. My idea was to provide the Commanding Officer with an office and shelter. All this we accom­plished within the first few days of my joining the Unit.Later on)when we advanced this shelter became Head-Quarters for the Battalion Commander, as I heard later and saw from a photo taken by one of my Unit.

At the battle for Bullecourt, I was wounded when a German shell burst near me at 2 o'clock in the morning when I was about to proceed with a squad of men towards the German trenches to view the state of their wire defenses. One of my men was killed also. I have retained the piece of shell in my right lung ever since.

After some five months in a Military Hospital in Birmingham, and some convalescent leave I was boarded in London, and marked for return to Australia. During my leave I spent an enjoyable three weeks in Ireland, and Scotland. (See Photo of Group on board Ship, returning to Australia.)

On arriving at the Victoria Barracks Melbourne, Major Cunningham, whom I knew, asked me if I wanted a job. I said I expected to go back to Messrs Blake and Riggall to take up my old job, where I had been for 9 years before enlisting. However we talked it over and he gave me a letter for Mr. (later Sir) Nicholas Lockyer, who had a small office in the Wool Exchange building in King Street

Sir Nicholas was the Head Commonwealth Public Service Officer in Melbourne to recruit or select men to start a Repatriation Service for the Commonwealth Government. I was selected, so after a week's holiday in the country, I started work and work there was starting a new Department. The Australian Soldiers Repatriation Act had just been gazetted, but there were no Regulations, setting out the machinery and the forms necessary for the occasion.

Long hours, days, and weeks were spent drafting these in conjunction with the Commonwealth Attorney General's Departmental Officers. At last the Regulations were completed and Gazetted, and all Local Repatriation Committees appointed by the State branches and State staffs were taken over by the Commonwealth. The date when I started with the Repatriation Commission was March 1918, with the title Senior Clerk and Legal Officer.

As training Classes run by the States were running smoothly the big problem now was, the machinery and safeguards for handling

War Pensions. In 1926 was transferred. to the N.S.W. office as Officer in Charge of Pensions Section, Member and Deputy Chairman of the Repatriation Board New South Wales.

In December 1935 I was transferred back to Melbourne when Service Pensions were placed on the Statute Book and I was responsible for the installation of the system and issue of the instructions for implementing Service Pensions for the Commonwealth.

On 22 August 1938, I was appointed Secretary of Repatriation Department, our Head Quarters being in Melbourne. On 28Apri1 1941, I was appointed Deputy Commissioner for Victoria. On 13 October 1941 I was appointed as a member of The Repatriation Commission.

When General Wootten joined the Repatriation Commission as the new Chairman, upon his return from New Guinea, I surrendered my lovely room to him. My room was on the 3rd. floor of the Equitable Building , which is now non=existent. Cyril Smith was the 2nd. member of the Repatriation Com . and I was the 3rd. member.

The General said to me, Bill, I know nothing about Repatriation, I will have to rely on you to teach me all there is to know. I assured him that I would not fail to do so. The General and I got on well together, and he was eager and quick to learn. He was fond of calling together Heads of Sections at times, when the three members of the Commission were sitting. On one occasion, a very zealous senior officer, raised a question as to why a certain Regulation should not be deleted as it was not used, and he considered it to be obsolete. Others in turn supported him. I was the only one in favour of retaining it. I told the General that the Regulation was still operative in New South Wales, and that if the Regulation was deleted hundreds of returned diggers would be deprived of their winter quarters. The Regulation was allowed to stand.

Soon after the General total had joined the Commission he asked me to accompany him on a trip to South Australia to visit our Branch Office there. The only plane available was a narrow single-engine plane, which held four persons one behind the other. The General was in the second last seat and I was behind him, right in the tail of the Plane. We landed at MT.Gambier and refueled. I was relieved when that we had reached half way without mishap. All the time we were travelling I was thinking and wondering whether I would be crushed to death with the General's 20 stone weight on top of me if we had  crashed.

On another occasion the General was at the Aerodrome in Sydney to fly back to Melbourne and he was accompanied by an Officer from the Sydney Office to see him safely on the Plane.

It was customary at that time, to have your weight taken on scales before embarking on the plane. It was winter and the General was well rugged up. The General was in line waiting to be weighed with the Officer, Heatly Roy, immediately behind him. As the General stepped on the scale Roy let out a yell "Jesus! over 20 stone!". The General retorted; "Yes, but I've got my overcoat on!".

Commencing January 1940 I compiled a small Booklet called "The Australian Soldiers Pocket Book"  Ten editions were issued with variations of the contents according to the country where the Soldiers were fighting. The total number of copies issued was 239,000. The cost of production was paid for by Australian  Comfort Fund. I received many congratulations on the Booklet including one from Mr. Menzies, who was Prime Minister in 1940.