71201
FARMER, William Leslie
| Service Number: | 1051 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | North Kensington, South Australia, 24 August 1889 |
| Home Town: | Norwood (SA), South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Storekeeper / Shop Assistant |
| Died: | Unley, South Australia, 25 March 1964, aged 74 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia General AD Path 14 Grave 15A |
| Memorials: | Norwood Primary School Honour Board, Norwood St Bartholomew's Anglican Church Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Sep 1914: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 1051, 4th Field Ambulance, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 1051, 4th Field Ambulance, HMAT Berrima, Melbourne | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 1051, 15th Field Ambulance |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
William Leslie Farmer was born in Adelaide on the 24th of August 1889. He lived at home with his parents in William Street, Norwood, in a small bluestone cottage that is still there today and which is now being renovated.
William was a local shop assistant before embarking for the Great War in 1914. William was 25 years old when he enlisted and unmarried. He had blue eyes, dark brown hair, was 5ft 8 inches, weighed 61.2kg and had two scars on his left arm. This is on the thin side and likely was due to the food rations that affected everyone during the war.
William enlisted on the 30th of September 1914. He was allocated to the field ambulance service and his service number was 1051. He embarked on the HMAT Berrima A35 on the 22nd of December 1914. The HMAT Berrima A35 weighed 11,137 kg, and an average cruising speed of 25.92 km/h.
In World War One the field ambulances played a major role in the medical division. They were on the front line to evacuate wounded casualties and then treat them as soon as possible. The unit was made up of one Regimental Medical Officer, a qualified doctor, several officers of Sergeant and Corporal rank and number of medical attendants of private rank. Minor casualties were treated on the spot after being evacuated, while more serious casualties were taken to a field hospital to be treated.
William’s involvement in the war included him being involved on the Western Front and field hospitals in England.
His records reveal that William was often hospitalised and in trouble with the military superiors for being AWOL – Absent Without Leave.
He was first hospitalised with influenza on July 18, 1915 and was transferred to All Saints Hospital in Malta in August 1915. He embarked for England from Malta on August 28 and arrived in London on September 11, 1915 and was admitted to the London Hospital.
William was among the 60,000 Australian soldiers who developed infections. Many soldiers were punished with ‘stoppages’ which is something that shows up quite a few times in his service records, when he spent a few days at a time in hospital in England and sometimes had his pay stopped.
On the 20th of November 1916, he was marched in to Number 4 Command Depot Wareham for being absent without leave from 9:30pm on the 17th of January 1917, until 10am on January 22. He received 120 hours of detention from Captain AW Hamilton and he lost 11 days pay.
Another time he was told off by Lieutenant RB McIntosh for being AWOL for nine hours on the 1st of January 1917, and he lost a day’s pay. Another time in February he was AWOL for a week and was punished with eight days of detention and he lost 15 days pay.
He was discharged on the 29th of January 1918 after serving three years and 121 days. He served two years and 335 days overseas and was discharged for being “Medically Unfit (Not Due to Misconduct)”. His records say he was discharged to Australia for having cystitis and tuberculosis.
He was married to E M Farmer and they lived at 76 Mary Street, Unley. His wife wrote to the Army after he died at their home on 25th of March 1964, asking for an Anzac Medallion.
Biography
Son of William FARMER and Annie Martha nee FARMER
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