KARPANY, Willie
| Service Number: | 3829 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wellington, South Australia , 14 October 1895 |
| Home Town: | Wellington East, The Coorong, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 30 August 1973, aged 77 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Commissioner of Public Works Roll of Honour, Raukkan Aboriginal Community War Memorial, Raukkan Mission Ngarrindjeri Anzacs Memorial, Tailem Bend and District Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3829, 32nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 3829, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 3829, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Adelaide | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 3829, 32nd Infantry Battalion |
Tailem Bend soldiers photograph
Article - The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser (SA : 1880 - 1954)Friday 11 May 1917 - Page 4
TAILEM BEND.
The Tailem Bend "Entertainers" reappeared in the Institute Hall on Wednesday evening last week. The proceeds were for local patriotic funds, and the hall was packed to the doors. An entirely new programme was given, consisting of the latest ragtime, patriotic, and other ballads.
…At the patriotic' concert held on Wednesday evening, May 2, the fourth picture, containing 16 photographs of soldiers who had enlisted, was unveiled by Mrs. Slater, of Wellington. The chairman of the Patriotic Citzens' Committee stated that this was the fourth picture to be unveiled, and that Mr. P. J. Critchley, who has collected the photos, expected to have sufficient shortly to make another group of 16 which would then bring the total to 80. The following soldiers' photos were unveiled:—Messrs. L. Rhue, Dan Sieben, C. Fuller, W. Karpany, J. P. Morris, P. Slater, W. Rayney, A. H. Wachtel, J. Taylor, F. White, F. Bolton, J. Winterfield, A. Rhue, W. J. Miller, J. O'Reilly, and J. Stott.
Submitted 10 September 2020 by Kathleen Emms
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of George KARPANY and Sarah nee PERRY
Biography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Note: his service record states that his name was incorrectly spelt and it should be Carpeney. His attestation paper appears to have been signed by whoever took his details - Schools Program
Willie Karpaney was born on the 14th of October 1895 in Wellington, in the Murray River. There were three people, of which were his mother, his older brother and himself. The status of his father is unknown. His older brother was named George Karpaney in which he enrolled in for the war at the age of 22, serving the 10th battalion. His occupation was a labourer, which was the same occupation as Willie. Willie was approximately six foot and a half. He had black hair, brown eyes and his chest measured at 36 ½ inches. As a labourer, Willie would specialise in anything to do with bricklaying, carpentry, plastering to even digging trenches. Growing up, Willie had little to no experience with war, conflict, and fighting. Originating from an Aboriginal heritage, it was almost an obligation for him to serve and protect his country (not the country of Australia but his family's country).
His battalion boarded the S.S Commonwealth ship on the 21st September 1916 and arrrived in Plymouth, England 14th November 1916. Willie arrived in France to fight on the 21st December 1916 joining the 32nd Battalion on the 5th January 1917. In March 1917 he was admitted to hospital with trench foot and after some rest and treatment he returned to his unit a couple of weeks later.
On the 29th of July 1918, 5 days after the encounter of the empty enemy base, the 32nd battalion planned an attack on the 3rd front. 2 platoons of B bay. The battalion captured 2 officers and imprisoned 15 soldiers, also obtaining machine guns, and killing many of the enemy. The battalion killed 8 men and wounded 40. Though, the enemy dropped heavy artillery upon the battalion, we can assume that the battalion quite skilful in terms of fighting, strategic planning and how they execute the mission for the victory.
He was wounded in action with a gun shot wound to his thigh in September 1917. In October he was charged with some offences (see service record) and then rejoined his unit on the 2nd November 1918.
During early September, Willie Karpaney had one of his biggest encounters with the enemies. It was an early morning on the 5th of September 1918, when approximately 3000 soldiers rushed the shores of the western front. The 32nd battalion passed through a village where enemy movement was detected with 3000+ enemies detected. When the battle had finished, the 32nd battalion have eliminated most of the enemy. Although they were in victory of this constant battle, 22 of their men passed away and were remembered.
Bibliography
Virtual War Memorial of Australia
https://vwma.org.au/education/resources-for-students
Digital Copy of the Documents
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au//SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=11605052
The Unit Diaries
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1004579/bundled/RCDIG1004579.pdf
The Letter from Sarah Karpaney
https://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/sarcib/SRG76_1_2117.pdf
Location Etaples
https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/56500/etaples-military-cemetery/
Biography of George Karpaney
https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/231324
The Collection of Information on Willie Karpaney
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10545804
The Ship in Which Willie Karpaney Embarked On
https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/HMAT_A73_Commonwealth
The Encounters of War
https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1004578/bundled/RCDIG1004578.pdf