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GILBERT, William Angus
| Service Numbers: | 2768, S212827 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 August 1916, Adelaide,South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Victoria Park, SA, 18 April 1893 |
| Home Town: | Payneham, Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Payneham Primary School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 16 August 1966, aged 73 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Payneham Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Payneham District Council Roll of Honor, Payneham RSL Honour Board, Payneham Road Uniting (Methodist) Church Honor Roll, St Peters Heroes of the Great War Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2768, 50th Infantry Battalion, Adelaide,South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Nov 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2768, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 6 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2768, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' |
World War 2 Service
| 19 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Keswick, SA | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Private, S212827 | |
| 19 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, S212827 | |
| 14 Feb 1947: | Discharged |
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Next Of Kin; Wife, Mrs Hilda May Gilbert.
Whilst training in England Gilbert was arrested for being AWL. He didn't help his cause as he tried to escape from the MP's and was also found to be wearing Sergants stripes. He detained for 8 days.
Biography contributed by Glenunga International High School
Pte William Angus Gilbert (Service No. 2768) was born in Adelaide on the 16th of April, 1893. His parents were David and Marion Gilbert. William lived in George Street, Payneham where he attended Payneham Primary School. He left school at the age of eleven and worked with his father as a labourer. His father was one of the stonemasons involved in the building of South Australia's Parliament House
Sgt David Gilbert (Service No. 641) His father David Gilbert born in Penzance England in 1870 had served in the Boer War. On the 17th September 1915 David re-enlisted in the Imperial Forces, joining the 1st Remount Unit No. 3 Squadron and serving in Egypt for 13 months before being returned to Australia and subsequently discharged (Unit no longer required for service)
By this time, William had married Hilda May Carey and had a baby boy who they named Vernon Stanley David Gilbert. He had delayed enlisting due to his wife expecting their first child in 1915.
Life in Service:
William enlisted on the 28th of August, 1916 and joined the 50th Battalion. His initial training was at Mitcham. (Service Number 2768) After leaving Outer Harbour Australia on the Afric on the 7th of November 1916. The troops sailed to England disembarking in Plymouth on the 9th of January 1917. They joined training camps in England.
TRAINING CAMPS IN ENGLAND:
Accommodation in the training camps throughout England often lacked enough accommodation with some personnel having to live in tents. The Western Front was trench warfare and the English training camps prepared the soldiers for the digging of trenches. This taught valuable military skills at the same time increasing fitness and building team spirit.
William left for France and the western front on 19th of April 1917. He served with his unit through to the end of the ewar and so would have fought in the battles of Polygon Wood, Villers-Bretonneux and Amiens.
Soldiers were granted a leave period and William stayed with family in England. Family he would never have met had he not enlisted.
He was a member of the battalion band and won a medal for the high dive at the 50th Battalion swimming carnival in Camon, France 21/7/1918.
LIFE IN THE TRENCHES:
Trench Warfare was a harsh existence. Soldiers lived in fear of disease and of course the constant fear of the enemy. The weather in France and Belgium meant the Trenches were often wet and muddy with the constant problem of rat infestation. Soldiers were required to dig new trenches however both France and Britain recruited manpower from China to help. Over one hundred and forty thousand Chinese labourers were recruited throughout the war. The area between the opposing sides was called ‘No-Man's Land’. No soldier wanted to enter this area for fear of attack.
Reading his war service transcript, he was arrested at one time in England for trying to escape after impersonating a Sergeant when he was a private. These stripes had enabled him to drink in an area a private was not entitled to be. He received 28 days detention for the misdemeanour.
He was evacuated from France on the 20th April 1919, disembarking in Southampton on the 22nd April, 1919.
William returned home in September 1919. He was one of the lucky ones with no injuries and no “shell shock” A.K.A PTSD. He thought it was an anti climax coming home. The soldiers had all changed, home had changed and they had lost their youth.
After the War:
After the war, William became a wood merchant. During the Second World War, he enlisted as a member of the CMF. After WWII he worked as a taxi driver and then in the later years of his working life he worked as a cook in the Repatriation Hospital. He lived in the same house in Payneham his whole life. His wife died 1963. William died on the 16th of August, 1966 at the age of 73. He is buried in the Payneham cemetery with his father and mother.