KING, William Gillespie
| Service Number: | 87 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Gympie, Queensland, Australia, 1 December 1869 |
| Home Town: | Gympie, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grocer, Soldier, Miner, Fruit Farmer |
| Died: | Gympie, Queensland, Australia, 4 January 1917, aged 47 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Gympie Cemetery, Qld Plot: PPB-5-58 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 87, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 87, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 9 Dec 1899: | Promoted Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Corporal, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 451, notes promoted to Corporal 9 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Corporal, 87, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 449 notes 1st QMI embarked 13 Dec 1900 returning to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 17 Jan 1901, disbanded 23 Jan 1901. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
When William Gillespie King enlisted in 1899 with the 1st QMI and his details were published with the rank and file in The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1899, he was recorded as Private W. King, single, Nash St, Gympie. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 59, it is noted he was promoted to Corporal on 9 Dec 1899. He served the full tour of the 1st QMI and returned to Brisbane aboard the Orient where he was discharged on 23 Jan 1901.
William Gillespie King was born on 1 Dec 1869 at Gympie, Queensland, a son to George King and Ellen King (nee Howat). He married Annie Forman Goodall on 7 Feb 1901 in Queensland.
William was well travelled prior to and after the war and had spent time in South Africa pre and post the Boer War as as reported in his obituary transcribed below.
Personal: Obituary- The Daily Standard (Brisb), 8 Jan 1917, p. 4.
Mr. W. G. King, who died last week in Gympie, was born in that town 47 years ago. Though a grocer by trade, the late Mr. King had had an adventurous career, his restless nature carrying him to all parts of the globe. He left his native city for the North many years ago, afterwards settling for a time in Sydney. His next move was to London, where he joined a cavalry regiment, afterwards transferring to similar regiment stationed in South Africa. He was at Natal when the famous Jamieson raid took place. Quitting the Hussars he joined the Bechuanaland Border Police, and eventually took to mining pursuits at Johannesburg. He returned to Gympie just prior to the outbreak of the Boer War, and at once enlisted, going right through the campaign. On two subsequent occasions he visited South Africa, and finally settled down to fruit farming in the Nambour district. The deceased leaves a widow, and his mother (Mrs. H. King) still resides in Gympie.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 451; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 59).