MILES, William
| Service Number: | 228 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, 2 June 1869 |
| Home Town: | Mackay, Mackay, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner, Dairy Farmer |
| Died: | Gympie, Queensland, Australia, 14 November 1929, aged 60 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Gympie Cemetery, Qld Plot: MS-3-39 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 228, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 228, 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. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 228, 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
Note- full name was William Martin Miles.
When William Miles enlisted in 1899 in 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. Miles, single, Sandyham Bay, Mackay. He served the full tour of the 1st QMI returning to Brisbane where he was discharged on 23 Jan 1901.
William Martin Miles was born on 2 Jun 1869 at Great Cheverell, Wiltshire, England, a son to Silas Miles and Emily Miles (nee Martin). He married Letitia May Potter on 19 Mar 1903 in Queensland and they had 9 children. When he passed in 1929 an obituray was published in The Brisbane Courier as transcribed below.
Personal (Obituary)- The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1929, p. 19.
The death of Mr. William Miles, of Wilson's Pocket, Gympie, and formerly of Monkland, Gympie, occurred in the Gympie General Hospital on Thursday evening last. The deceased was born in Wiltshire (England) in 1874, and came to Queensland when he was 22 years of age. He landed at Mackay, and resided in the Mackay district until the outbreak of the South African war. He enlisted and served through the whole campaign, under the command of Major D. Reid, D.S.O., of Gympie. Deceased then came to Gympie and followed the occupation of a miner. He married at the age of 28 years, and then took up residence at Monkland, where he took an active interest in musical circles. He was an active member of the Gympie Federal Band. Fourteen years ago, or about the time of the closing of the Scottish mine, where he had been employed, he decided to go on the land, and took up a selection at Wilson's Pocket, where he had been engaged in dairy farming ever since. He is survived by his widow and nine children. The funeral took place at Gympie on Saturday.
(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. 71).