DARTNELL, William Thomas
| Service Numbers: | 1172, Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 February 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Unspecified British Units |
| Born: | Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, 6 April 1885 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Maktan, Kenya, East Africa, 3 September 1915, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Voi Cemetery East Africa |
| Memorials: | Keith Payne VC Memorial Park, North Bondi War Memorial, Winchelsea WWI Memorial |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 1172, 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles |
|---|
World War 1 Service
| 12 Feb 1915: | Enlisted British Forces (All Conflicts), Lieutenant, Unspecified British Units | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Feb 1915: | Promoted British Forces (All Conflicts), Lieutenant, 25th Battalion Royal Fusiliers | |
| 3 Sep 1915: | Involvement Lieutenant, Officer, Unspecified British Units | |
| 3 Sep 1915: | Discharged British Forces (All Conflicts), Lieutenant, 25th Bn RF. KIA. | |
| 23 Dec 1915: | Honoured Victoria Cross, In London Gazette | |
| 1 Feb 1917: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches, Additional East Africa MID List |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Ned Young
Australian Dictionary of Biography - by Merrilyn Lincoln
William Thomas Dartnell (1885-1915), soldier, actor and clerk, was born on 6 April 1885 at Collingwood, Melbourne, son of English-born Henry Dartnell, fruiterer, and his native-born wife Rose Ann, née Hanley. He was educated in Melbourne and became an actor. On 15 April 1907, at Queen Street, Melbourne, he married Elizabeth Edith Smyth with Presbyterian forms; they settled at Fitzroy.
Dartnell was in South Africa when World War I broke out. He went on to England and on 12 February 1915, using the name Wilbur Taylor Dartnell, joined the 25th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Frontiersmen), as a temporary lieutenant. As the regimental history notes, this battalion 'included men of various ages and with strange experience from all quarters of the globe'. Raised especially for use against German troops in British East Africa, it was the only British unit sent on active service during the war without preliminary training.
To read more open link below
Biography - William Thomas Dartnell - Australian Dictionary of Biography (adb.anu.edu.au)
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