FOXFORD, William
| Service Number: | 78 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 February 1916, Enlisted at Newcastle, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 35th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia, 29 July 1892 |
| Home Town: | Islington, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Hamilton Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Signalman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Passchendaele Ridge, Belgium, 12 October 1917, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot V, Row B, Grave 9. Headstone inscription reads: Too dearly loved to be forgotten |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hamilton Superior Public School Roll of Honour, Hamilton War Memorial, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 78, 35th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Newcastle, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 78, 35th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 1 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 78, 35th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
William FOXFORD (Service Number 78) was born on 29 July 1892 at Wallsend, NSW, and he attended Hamilton Public School. On 18 October 1909 he joined the NSWGR&T Railways Traffic Branch as a Gatekeeper at Broadmeadow. On 15 March 1910 he changed jobs, becoming a junior porter in the Newcastle District of the Traffic Branch. On 29 July 1914 he became a Signalman and by 31 December 1914 he was a Signalman at Adamstown. On 24 February 1916 he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
On 12 October 1917 he was killed in action at Passchendaele in Belgium.
Depositions in William’s Red Cross Enquiry Bureau file describe the circumstances of his death. Private W.J. Garrett (86) of the same Company stated: ‘I saw him killed at Passchendaele. He was caught by shrapnel pellets which hit him about the head, death being instantaneous. He was a runner and out with a message at the time. He took cover in a shell hole and was there when the shrapnel caught him.’ Sergeant C.W. Howard (112) corroborated this: ‘He was killed by a piece of shell which went straight through him, and he died immediately. It was at Passchendaele Ridge. He was buried on the battle-field by a brave Chaplain Capt. Osborne, C to F.[sic], under heavy fire. He was given the MC for it.’
William’s body was later exhumed, and his grave is now in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium.
Submitted 8 July 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of John Harold Foxford and Catherine Foxford of Lawson Street, Hamilton, NSW.
Brother of Albert Foxford, Edmund A. Foxford, Agnes Foxford and John Harold Foxford who returned to Australia 2 June 1919 having served with the 35th Battalion and 53rd Battalion
Husband of Vera Gladys Foxford nee King of 38 Pheobe Street, Islington, NSW. William and Vera married during 1916 in Hamilton, NSW. Father of Joyce Valerie Foxford
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
William FOXFORD (Service Number 78) was born on 29th July 1892 at Wallsend, NSW. He attended Hamilton Public School. On 18th October 1909 he joined the NSWGR&T Railways Traffic Branch as a Gatekeeper at Broadmeadow. On 15th March 1910 he became a junior porter in the Newcastle District of the Traffic Branch. On 29th July 1914 he became a Signalman and by 31st December 1914 he was a Signalman at Adamstown.
24th February 1916 he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
William’s date of joining the AIF was officially 24th February 1916. He was posted to the 35th Infantry Battalion with the rank of Private (Service No. 78). At enlistment he stated he was unmarried and living at Hamilton in Newcastle. He nominated his mother, Catherine Foxford who was living at the same address, as his next of kin. However, records show he married Vera Gladys King in 1916 (it is thought, between when he enlisted and when he left Australia). His Attestation Papers were subsequently changed to show his wife, then living at Islington in Newcastle, as his next of kin.
William embarked for England aboard HMAT A24 ‘Benalla’ on 12th May 1916. He disembarked at Plymouth, England, on 9th July 1916. He stayed in England until 21st November 1916 when he left for France. During this time, he spent from 27th September to 4th October in hospital with Influenza.
In France he spent from 22nd December 1916 to 2nd January 1917 in hospital with scabies and bronchitis. From 25th July to 31st July 1917 he was in hospital suffering from debility (shell shock).
On 12th October 1917 he was killed in action at Passchendaele in Belgium.
Private W.J. Garrett (86) of the same Company stated: ‘I saw him killed at Passchendaele. He was caught by shrapnel pellets which hit him about the head, death being instantaneous. He was a runner and out with a message at the time. He took cover in a shell hole and was there when the shrapnel caught him.’ Sergeant C.W. Howard (112) corroborated this: ‘He was killed by a piece of shell which went straight through him, and he died immediately. It was at Passchendaele Ridge. He was buried on the battle-field by a brave Chaplain Capt. Osborne, C to F.[sic], under heavy fire. He was given the MC for it.’
William’s body was later exhumed, and his grave is now in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium.
The Australian War Memorial gives his place of association as Hamilton, Newcastle, NSW. After his death his widow was granted a pension of £2 per fortnight with effect from 8th January 1918. He also left a daughter, Joyce Valerie Foxford, and she was granted a pension of £1 per fortnight with effect from the same date.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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