William George (Bill) RICE

William George (Bill) RICE Update Details

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RICE, William George

Service Number:	S17614
Enlisted:	21 September 1940, Mount Barker, SA
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	27 Infantry Battalion AMF
Born:	Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, 10 January 1918
Home Town:	Nairne, Mount Barker, South Australia
Schooling:	Nairne Primary School, South Australia
Occupation:	Labourer
Died:	Adelaide, South Australia, 17 November 1992, aged 74 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery:	Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia
Memorials:

World War 2 Service

21 Sep 1940:	Involvement Private, S17614
21 Sep 1940:	Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S17614
21 Sep 1940:	Enlisted Mount Barker, SA
12 May 1944:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S17614, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF, embarked Cairns for Lae on board the Duntroon
9 Oct 1944:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S17614, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF, embarked Lae for Bougainville on board the Ann McKim
19 Feb 1945:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S17614, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF, embarked Bougainville for Sydney on board the Duntroon
7 Apr 1945:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S17614, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF, embarked Brisbane for Torokina on board the Katoomba
5 Nov 1945:	Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S17614, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF, embarked Torokina for Townsville on board the MV Charon
12 Nov 1945:	Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S17614
12 Nov 1945:	Discharged

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Biography contributed by Chris Buckley

Younger of the two brothers (Jack and William) who served in WWII, Private William George Rice (Service No:S17614) enlisted in the Army on 21 September 1940 with 10 Battalion and transferred to 27 Infantry Battalion on 14 December 1941. Private Rice served in Darwin NT (19 February 1942 - 3 April 1943), and from May 1944 to November 1945 was in Lae, Bougainville and Torokina. Private Rice was attached to 27 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 12 November 1945.

Bill was born in Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, South Australia in 1918, second of six children of Joshua (Josh) Thomas Rice (b1870 at Levi's Waterhole, Duttion via Nuriootpa, South Australia) and Edith (Edie) May Rowe (b1897 at Gepps Cross, Port Adelaide, South Australia). Josh was a Labourer in Dutton - and member of the Dutton Cricket Team - in 1916 when he and Edie married in Adelaide. They lived in Kingscote on Kangaroo Island (where Josh was a Labourer) until the 1920s when they settled in Nairne. Josh worked as a Labourer.

Bill was a Labourer in Nairne when he enlisted in the Army in 1940. Following his Discharge, Bill married Elsie Merle Hall (b1921 in Adelaide, South Australia) in 1947 in Kensington in Adelaide. Bill died in 1992 and Elsie died in 2011.

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