WILLIAMS, James Pringle
| Service Number: | VX46177 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer Class 2 |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 March 1901 |
| Home Town: | South Melbourne, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Syria, 16 June 1941, aged 40 years |
| Cemetery: |
Beirut War Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement VX46177 | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 2, VX46177 |
Help us honour James Pringle Williams's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Zena Williams
16 June 1941 Warrant Officer Class 2 J P Williams was Killed in Action at Jezzine.
VX46177 WO2 James Pringle Williams was born at South Melbourne on 13 March 1901 and enlisted in the 2nd A I F on 11 June 1940.
WO2 Jim Williams was an old soldier being a WW1 veteran, upon joining the 2/3 MG Bn he gained rapid promotion and soon became Company Sergeant Major of B Coy.
From the Book Snow to Jungle ” WO2 Williams had been an instructor at the Machine Gun Training Battalion at Balcombe for the purpose of selecting reinforcements .Captain Greiner picked out a number of men and then left the parade ground. WO2 Williams ordered them to stand fast and looked then over. He ordered You, out! and again, You, out! until his culling was complete. W02 Williams had been warder in Pentridge Goal and recognised some old friends.”
At daylight on the 16 June B Coy HQ and 7 Pl were setup in Jezzine when the Vichys started shelling. CSM Williams was in the area with the Coy orderly room Cpl looking for 7 platoon, when he heard an incoming shell he told all to take cover. Then he saw an Arab child standing up and called to him to get down, but before he could take cover himself he was fatally hit in the throat by shrapnel.
WO2 Williams is buried in the Beirut War Cemetery.
James Pringle Williams also served in the AIF during WW1 as 4738 Pte James Edward Williams with the 29th Battalion A I F, on active service in France.
Where he was found to be under age and was returned to England then Australia for discharge. I can’t find any evidence of him enlisting again during WW1.
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