Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William, the only son of Phillip and Emily Annie Manley, was born in the mining town of Broken Hill in February 1908. Soon after, the family moved to live in Adelaide where Bill attended Cowandilla Public School. His athletic ability resulted in him being a valuable member of the West Adelaide Football Club for five seasons.
William, universally known as Bill, worked as a motor driver and served with the Australian Army Service Corps which was especially significant in supporting the 9th Division. He was comparatively young when he first became engaged aged 21 in December ’29 and married Gladys Ingham. The two had a daughter, Ellen Dawn in November ’31. However, the marriage did not last. Following their divorce, Bill married Clara Olive Beatrice Dunhill, with the two living in Bowden. Soon after, with the outbreak of WWII Bill enlisted on the 5th July 1940, being given the number SX7878 and allocated to the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. He was then 32 years old. Bill’s initial days were spent in the cold of the Pavilions, now part of the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds. From Wayville, he and the new enlistees moved to Woodside for their preliminary training.
Following pre-embarkation leave, the 2/48th contingent embarked on the Stratheden for the Middle East, on the 7th November 1940, arriving on the 17th December 1940. Their 2/48th Battalion completed a few months training in Cyrenaica before moving to Tobruk at the start of April 1941 where the dust, flies, heat, minimal water supplies and constant bombardment were quite a challenge to these fresh new enlistees. They were to become the famed Rats of Tobruk, a title designed to be derogatory, but one worn with pride.
Soon after disembarking, in June ‘41 news was received that Bill had been wounded in action, receiving multiple gunshot wounds causing him to be hospitalised. Lewis Abbott SX7324 from the same battalion was also wounded. It was over a month before Bill was able to return to his battalion. Back home, The News reported that ‘Pte. William Richard Manley, of Port road, Bowden who has been accidentally wounded, is the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Manley, of Bagot avenue, Fullarton. His wife has been notified of the casualty. Pte. Manley enlisted in July 1940, and sailed in November. He was educated at the Cowandilla Public School and for five years played football for West Adelaide B.’
Finally, Bill was able to return to the 2/48th in July and soon after was promoted to A/Corporal, a rank he retained despite ‘neglecting to obey a general order’ for which he was reprimanded. However, by the end of the year his promotion to Corporal was confirmed.
On the 18th April ’41 in the fight for Carrier Hill an enemy truck was caught approaching D Company. Quick thinking by the men resulted in the driver being killed whilst the other occupants scattered. Bill was in the patrol that then headed out to bring the truck back behind Allied lines. Later, in his laconic style he wrote a report.
“On the patrol were Warrant Officer Noble, Ron Provis, Bill Hoare and myself, with two or three others. We moved to the truck and found six German packs stacked very neatly, and in quick time did them over, searching for documents. I found a very good watch. Behind the vehicle we found a dual-purpose anti-tank gun, which we proceeded to tow back to company headquarters. The noise we made was terrific. Near Post S7 Jock Kennedy’s voice could be heard giving orders for the men to open fire on command. I was in a cold sweat. We yelled to Jock, telling him what we thought of him. We even went back a generation or two, and succeeded in leaving no doubt in his mind that we were Australians. We finally got the gun back to D Company headquarters.”
By June the same year, the 2/48th was in the midst of fighting for Post S9 in horrific conditions. John Glenn in ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’ described the general conditions. ‘The slightest daylight movement by our men brought shells and mortars crashing about our ears, so that anybody ‘drawing the crabs’ became very unpopular. The nights were filled with activity.’ Life in the salient posts was indescribable. Bill, however attempted to portray how he and his mates lived.
“Our post is dug in sand and rock, and it is about ten feet long by two and a half feet wide and three feet deep, covered by blankets, with some dirt and camel brush on top for camouflage. We crawl into this about 4:30 every morning, taking with us our rations, which consist of a loaf of bread, a part tin of jam, and a small piece of margarine, not forgetting our toilet requisites, as big a jam tin as we can find (empty of course) because I already have a touch of dysentery. Daylight shows up, getting warmer all the time, and soon the flies make an appearance, sticking to my sweaty flesh. I get my blanket and drag it over my legs. It gets hotter, and I debate whether to throw the damn thing off and let the files have a better go at me but decide against it. I turn over on the other side and put papers over my face, doze fitfully, being brought back smartly to earth by the crunch of the mortar about ten yards from me. The next will be closer. My Mate is Spanner Spears, just up from hospital, and of course he had to cop the Salient. For dinner we have hard bread, margarine and jam and warm water. The heat is terrific, the flies swarm in a black cloud around the jam. What a life! We return to resting. The day wears on. Out toilet is crude, and the smell is foul but to show a hand above would give our position away. When darkness comes, we come out of our holes to empty our tins and talk with our mates until dawn, when down we go again. This is pretty grim for the boys who have dysentery, and some are in a really bad way.”
Despite the deprivations and unimaginable conditions, the men still backed their mates and found something to laugh at. Even under constant fire from enemy mortars on the 11th September ’41, under the leadership of Sergeant John Buckley SX8479, Bill’s group opened fire on a group of Germans who fled. The men returned to their post and began cleaning their tommy guns. Unexpectedly, a lost German soldier wandered in, to be immediately arrested by Sydney Kinsman, who bluffed with an empty tommy gun. The German had a luger tucked in his boot, which was quickly grabbed and removed by one of the battalion men and hastily given to Syd in exchange for his empty weapon.
With the poor living conditions, Bill developed a very high temperature called Pyrexia of Unknown Origin (PUO) which caused him to have a week of convalescence before he was able to return to the 2/48th. Soon after, Bill developed an infection in his scalp which persisted for some time and eventually required hospital attention. He eventually was able to return to his battalion and a further promotion to Acting Sergeant. At the end of October ’42 the battle for Trig 29 was in full swing. Bill’s battalion was subjected to a constant barrage of artillery and mortar fire. Clashes erupted in No Man’s Land and Bill’s Company was under full attack. The troops had come under heavy fire as they were forming up and suffered casualties before they were able to commence their attack. With communication wires cut, Bill, then a Sergeant, was ordered to contact company headquarters for artillery support. When this came, it held up the attack.
By the end of ’42, and whilst still in the Middle East, Bill was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Early the following year he was to bid the desert conflict farewell and head home to Australia, via Melbourne, arriving in February ’42.
Following well-deserved leave, Bill and the 2/48th headed to Queensland to train for warfare in very different tropical conditions and against a very different enemy. In August ’43 he left Cairns and headed for Milne Bay, New Guinea. Over the next months ill health continued to affect him with several bouts of both malaria and the high fever (PUO) previously experienced in the Middle East, also resulting in several hospitalisations.
As Bill and his men moved towards Mount Lunaman, the tropical conditions contributed to the high rate of malaria. Black mud almost up to the men’s waists, decaying vegetation and a myriad of insects were a breeding ground for jungle fevers. Bill recognised an exceptional leader in Brigadier ‘Torpy’ Whitehead. A delightful story in ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’ described, in Bill’s unique style how:
“After enduring mud, slush, mosquitoes and downpouring bloody rain the troops arrived just to the rear of Mount Lunaman. All had been out of smokes for days and all were at the snarling point, caused mostly by no bloody smokes. The dispersal had just been completed, when, passing through D Company, came the grand old man, Brigadier Whitehead, puffing away contentedly at his pipe. The aroma of good tobacco drifted to the troops, who had not had a smoke for days. Jim Absalom asked in a quiet, matter of fact voice, “What about a puff on the pipe, sir?”
The Brigadier immediately shared the contents of his pouch with the men (minus one pipeful) and asked his officers about the lack of supplies for the men. The response that it was a luxury and therefore not for the front line soldiers was met with disbelief and immediate orders from the Brigadier made to ensure the tobacco appeared by the following day. It did!
By February ’44 Bill was able to return to Australia, via Brisbane but was still badly affected by malaria. With the war drawing to a close, Bill was allocated different duties with the 9th Australian Works Company, prior to finally being discharged in December. In June, he was able to attend his younger sister, Dulcie’s wedding to Sergeant Walter Hore, SX10958 who served with the 2/10th Battalion.
Having faced so many challenging situations with bravery and composure, whilst also being an exceptional leader, it seemed more that petty that on returning home to live a more peaceful life, Bill faced a charge of not having a wireless licence and was fined £3, with 10/- costs in September ’50.
Aged 84, Bill died on the 8th September 1992 at Kilburn. His ashes were placed in the Clearview Cemetery of Port Adelaide in the Eastern Niche Wall, Number 2 RSL AB4. Four years later, Clara died on the 6th September ’96 with her ashes returned to the family.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.