Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From How We Served
 
The final resting place for; - V147450 Private William Edward Bertram Rainford of Lancashire, England and Charlton, Victoria, had already served with the Royal Navy during World War One, with which he mustered as a Stoker 1st Class.

William served for the duration of the War, only taking his formal discharge from the Royal Navy following the cessation of hostilities in November 1918. Having re-entered civilian life, William immigrated out to Australia during the decades of peace that followed.
Following the outbreak of a Second World War, William presented himself for service with the Australian Military Forces on the 6th of March 1942, and would be allocated to the Australian Army Catering Corps, with which he served with as a cook.

On the 24th of April 1944, William was transferred to the 115th Australian General Hospital (Heidelberg) and was taken on strength as a member of the hospital’s kitchen staff.

William’s service would be continuous until he himself was evacuated due to sickness and was admitted into the 115th Australian General Hospital as a patient on the 21st of November.

Whilst still being treated under hospital care, William succumbed to illness on the 30th of November 1944. William was aged 54 at the time of his premature death whilst again on War Service.

Following his passing, Private William Rainford, a British Royal Naval veteran of the ‘Great War’, and who had chosen to serve his newly adopted country in a Second World War, was formally laid to rest within Springvale War Cemetery, Victoria.