CARTER, William Henry
| Service Number: | 4313 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Footscray, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Footscray, Maribyrnong, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Baker |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Fairlight, New South Wales, Australia, 25 September 1960, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 4313, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Jan 1916: | Embarked Private, 4313, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Borda, Adelaide |
Memories of my grandfather WH Carter
As a child it seemed my grandfather known as Bill Carter appeared to loom over me as he seemed to be tall and yet he was of average height. He had a solid build. He spent many years selling bibles for the Salvation Army and spent some time in the Eventide Home for men in South Australia. He was a bit of a character having been called the “Kangaroo hop king” after being caught/accused by police of sly grogging. He had a boat he used on the River Murray partly for this grog activity. He had a number of bakeries at different times in both Sth Australia and Northern Territory, the one in Katherine, NT being the one that gave him his title of “mug baker” and his reputation of being “a character”. He was 85 years old when he passed away peacefully in the home of my father, his son. Just days before his death my father had visited him in his room to find him rising from his bed unaided, with arms outstretched. My father asked what was happening and WH dropped back down on the bed and said the angels were calling. He came from a very committed Christian family.
Submitted 6 November 2025 by Shirley Carter
Biography contributed by St Ignatius' College
William Henry Carter was born in Footscray, Victoria. He enrolled for the War at age 39 years and 2 months. He was 5’10 and 3 quarters, had grey eyes and grey hair. Before and during the war, he was a baker. He was married to Gladys Maud and together they had 4 children: Ray, Alan, Bevan and 1 unknown. Carter also was part of the Church of England as his religion. Shown in his records, he did not have any previous military service or experience before the first war. During the war, he was in the 10th Battalion and 13th Reinforcement.
William Henry Carter's enlistment date was the 11th August 1915. His Unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board the ship HMAT A30 Borda on 11 January 1916. It was planned for the Australian emigrant route through Cape Town and built for the Pacific & Orient Steam Navigation Company of London. It was afterwards leased by the Commonwealth until September 10, 1917. It made six journeys from Australia with soldier troops during its period leased to the Commonwealth. During his time in the war, he was injured badly enough to need to go to hospital. His casualty form shows, 7.7.16 was promoted to Corporal and on 23.6.16 was taken in strength but records do not show where. On 20.10.16, Carter was promoted to Sergeant and reverted to the ranks also not saying where. From 13.5.17, he was on leave. He re-joined the battalion on 2.6.17. Carter then shows to be wounded in the field on 28.10.17. He terribly injured his arm and left shoulder and had to be put in hospital. During this time, he also got sick. He stayed in a hospital in Bulford from 28.10.17 until 1.3.18. On 17.4.18-14.5.18 he was transferred to a new hospital, but records don’t show to where. On 7.6.18 – 9.6.18, he proceeded to join new unit from England. On 15.6.18, Carter re-joined the battalion. Later on, he was put under authority and was sent to the base to be a baker. From then on, he was a baker and on the 8.2.19 returned to England and was disembarked from England. He returned back to Australia on 19 April 1919.
Years later aged 78, he passed away on October 27th, 1955. His funeral was conducted privately on a Friday at the Centennial Park Cemetery. His last known Address was 98 Rosetta Street, West Croydon. Some family members mentioned on his death certificate are Gladys Maude, who was his wife, 3 of his 4 children being Ray, Alan, and Bevan, and Jess who was Alans’s wife. He also had Trevor, Valerie, Gary, Sue and Rodney who were all his grandchildren but also his great grandchildren David and Julie.
Biography contributed by Shirley Carter
The information about family members supplied previously by St Ignatius college has included details that pertain to a different William Henry Carter.
He served 4 years leaving his wife, Rebecca Elizabeth Thorpe, 2 sons (Gifford & Donald, 2 daughters (Cassie and Lillian "Phoebe") to run the bakery. William died in his son, Donald's house in Fairlight, Sydney on 25th September 1960. He donated his remains to the university.
William saw conflict previously in the Boer war serving a number of years in South Africa and was wounded by gunshot in both Boer and WW1. His first attempt to join forces in WW1 failed due to a dental problem which he addressed quickly to ensure his enlistment.
Click images to start slideshow.