ADSHEAD, William
| Service Number: | 3451 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 September 1915, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Yorkshire, England, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Kogarah, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Rockdale Public School, New South Wales |
| Occupation: | Railway Employee |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Pozieres, Somme Sector, France, 2 August 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France, Puchevillers British Cemetery, Puchevillers, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Goulburn District Railway Employees Great War Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Rydal Union Church Pictorial Roll of Honor, Rydal War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sydney, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3451, 17th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3451, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Honour Board
William ADSHEAD, (Service Number 3451) was born in Lancashire in 1887 and began his NSWGR career in the Electrical Branch as a cleaner in 1905. Transferring to the Traffic Branch as a junior porter in 1908, he moved from the wages staff to the salaried staff as night officer at Oolong in 1909, then at Gunning and Wentworthville in 1912, Rydal in 1913, and Koorawatha in 1915. In October that year he was granted leave to enlist in the AIF.
Embarked at Sydney in December 1915, he was sent via Egypt and England to France, where he was landed with his unit in March 1916. He was killed in action at Pozières on 2 August 1916 and buried there, but the heavy shelling and fighting in later actions appears to have obliterated the grave. He is commemorated with honour on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
The Cumberland Argus, in 1916 reporting his death as that of ‘Another Wentworthville Hero’, recalled his railway service at Wentworthville, ‘where his kindly manner and attention to duty made him a general favourite. He sacrificed splendid prospects in the Railway Department to do his bit at the real thing. A young man with high ideals, he made many friends in the district…’
(NAA B2455-3022688)
Submitted 9 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography
Arrived in Australia aged 2 years
17 Battalion
Rank - Private
17 March 1916 - Embarked at Alexandria for B.E.F
23 March 1916 - Disembarked at Marseilles
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Son of William and Mary Adshead, of Burlington St., Kogarah, New South Wales
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