WILLIAMS, William John
| Service Number: | 27710 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 September 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 42 Squadron RAAF |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, 18 November 1921 |
| Home Town: | Millswood, City of Unley, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Thebarton Technical High School, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Apprentice (Motor Body Builder) |
| Died: | Port Pirie, South Australia, 30 September 2008, aged 86 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 12 Sep 1940: | Involvement Sergeant, 27710 | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep 1940: | Enlisted Adelaide | |
| 12 Sep 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 27710 | |
| 1 Jan 1944: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 27710, No. 42 Squadron RAAF, Gunner on Catalina flying boat. | |
| 3 Dec 1945: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant William John Williams (Service No:21710) enlisted in the RAAF at No 5 Recruiting Centre Adelaide on 12 September 1940 as an Aircraftman I - mustered as Trainee Techniclan, re mustered as Fitter. Promoted to Sergeant by 1943, he served in the Northern Territory at 54 Mile and Melville Bay with 20 and 40 Squadrons in 1944, and on 9 June 1944 was appointed as a member of aircraft crew. Sergeant Williams served in Morotai with 42 Squadron in November 1944, and was attached to No 111 Air Sea Rescue Flight (ASRF) Madang from 5 January to 12 June 1945. Sergeant Williams was attached to 1 Flying Boat Repair Depot (Lake Boga) at Discharge on 3 December 1945.
Bill was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1921, eldest of two children of William George Williams (b1896 in Kadina, South Australia) and Petrell May Horsell (b1897 in Black Forest, Adelaide, South Australia). William served in the AIF in WWI (Trooper; Service No:1045) and worked as a Farm Hand and Labourer. William and Petrell married in 1919 in Adelaide, where they settled on Millswood Estate and raised their family. William worked as a Carpenter.
Bill was an Apprentice Motor Body Builder with JT Richards & Sons in Adelaide in 1940 - he had experience as a Tool Machinist, Pattern Maker and Fitter and Turner during his five year apprenticeship. In 1943 in Maffra, Victoria Bill married Marjorie Jean Shingles (b1923 in Maffra, Victoria). Following his Discharge from the RAAF, Bill and Marjorie lived in Adelaide and Coobowie on the Yorke Peninsula. Marjorie died in 2006 and Bill in 2008.
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