28277 / H662
MOSELEY, William Percy
| Service Number: | 3872 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Magill, Campbelltown - South , 22 November 1890 |
| Home Town: | Magill, Campbelltown, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Adelaide, South Australia , 9 January 1948, aged 57 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Magill General Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Magill Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Feb 1916: | Involvement Private, 3872, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Feb 1916: | Embarked Private, 3872, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Driver, 3872 |
Help us honour William Percy Moseley'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 Percy Moseley was born on the 22nd of November 1890 to John and Clara Moseley. The Moseley’s lived in Woodforde Road, Magill. Before enlisting William was a labourer. Moseley had no experience in the military before WWI. William was 5 foot 6 and weighed 131 pounds(59kg), had grey eyes and brown hair.
On the 7th of September 1915 William Percy Moseley enlisted at the age of 24 years 11 months. He was enlisted as a private in the 27th Battalion, 9th reinforcement. He and his unit embarked onboard the HMAT A28 Miltiades on the 7th of February 1916.
On the 17th of April 1916 William was posted to the 5th Division Ammunition Column (D.A.C). William was promoted to a driver from his previous rank of private on the 16th of May. 2 days later Moseley embarked on the HMT Knight Templar from Alexandria camp in Egypt and travelled to Marseilles. After a one week journey Moseley arrived in Marseilles. William spent most of his time during WWI at Flanders Fields. Mosley went through many different periods of detachment and re-joining the 5th division.
Early on in Moseley’s time in the 5th D.A.C they moved to help reinforce The Somme and were involved in many battles including the Battle of Guillemonte, the battle of Flers-Courcelette, the battle of Morval and the Battle of Le Transloy. Throughout September and October 1917, they were involved in the third battle of Ypres. In January 1918 they helped on the river Piave, after 2 months they returned to France where they were involved in assisting the German Advance and Faught in the battle of Lys.
Third Battle of Ypres
The Third Battle of Ypres was one of the major battles that William and his division were directly involved in. This battle was initiated on the 30th of July 1917 and finished on the 5th of November 1917. This battle was started when British and French soldiers attacked the Germans on the east of Ypres. The 5th D.A.C got involved in this battle in September and they were thrown right into the action and helped with successes of the smaller fronts being the Battle of Menin Road, Battle of Polygon wood and Battle of Broodseinde all being won in late September and early October.
Polygon Wood was a front that the 5th division was heavily involved in. At 5.50am on the 26th of September they went through on the right side and worked their way to a heavy artillery barrage and were able to secure their intended objectives. South of the 4th and 5th divisions other Australian brigades were able to secure their objectives and others. The Germans didn’t let all of this happen without any fighting back and tried to make counterattacks but the defences of the Australians were able to stop them from making any major ground. This battle was not performed without the loss of soldiers as 5,770 Australians died during this successful advance.
On the 7th of April 1919 William travelled from Havre, France to Bulford, England. He arrived on the 8th and went to the Australian Dermatological hospital In Bulford that focused on venereal diseases. William was treated for a venereal disease until the 29th of May. After this short treatment he returned to fighting in the war.
On the 17th of July 1919 William’s Next of Kin, who was changed to his father after the death of his mother whilst William was at war, advised for him to return to Australia after the war was over. On the 16th of June he embarked on the RMS Ormonde. He disembarked on the 29th of July and was in Australia once again after 1268 days.
Moseley acquired 3 medals from the war. These were the 1914/15-star, British war medal and a victory medal. The 1914/15 star was awarded for men who fought against the central European powers. The British war was given for fighting for a certain period of time and the victory medal was given to all recipients of the 1914/15-star medal.
On the 30th of June 1925 William Percy Moseley was married to Eleanor June at Sydenham Road Methodist Church, Norwood. The couple then went to Mount Gambier for their honeymoon.
On the 9th of January 1948 William Percy Moseley passed away at the age of 57. His grave can be found at the Magill general cemetery and is in row k site 178.