WHITE, Cyril
| Service Number: | 245 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | North Adelaide, South Australia, 20 June 1886 |
| Home Town: | Grange, City of Charles Sturt / Henley and Grange, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 26 March 1917, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Queant Road Cemetery, Buissy, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cowell Men from Franklin Harbour WW1 Roll of Honour, Cowell Remembrance Park, Cowell War Memorial, The South Australian National War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 31 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 245, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 245, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| 26 Mar 1917: | Involvement Corporal, 245, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 245 awm_unit: 27 Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-03-26 |
Help us honour Cyril White's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cowell RSL
Cyril White was born in North Adelaide in 1886, growing up in suburban Adelaide, listing Grange as his hometown. He was the son of Kate and William. A younger brother named Horatio (Horace) also served.
Cyril, in business with Mr J Deer, sold cordials and aerated waters in Cowell. He had his own bottles stamped and they were then filled with the machine which is on display at the Cowell History Museum. The business was situated on the block of land now occupied by the Cowell RSL.
Cyril enjoyed playing billiards and was beaten in the semi finals of a tournament at the Commercial Hotel Rooms, even though a ‘dead cert’ according to a report in the Eyre’s Peninsula Tribune (Friday June 7 1912).
On the 5th of February 1915, Cyril signed up to fight in the First World War for the Australian Imperial Force. He was 28 years old. He was assigned to the 27th Battalion and embarked on the 31st of May on the HMAT Geelong.
Arriving in Alexandria, Private White initially served in Egypt before moving to France. On the 26th of June 1916 he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal before taking the 1st half of December as leave in England.
Upon returning to France, Cyril was promoted to Temporary Corporal on the 1st of March 1917.
On the 26th of March 1917, T/Corporal Cyril White was Killed In Action in France. A special collective cross was erected in the Queant Road British Cemetery, Buissy, France bearing the soldier’s full regimental description and date of death, preceded by the words ‘Buried in this Cemetery, actual grave unknown’.
Sadly, his brother Horace would also die in December 1917 while a Prisoner of War of the Germans, from wounds received in action.
Links & Information
WW1 Service Record: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1847031
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1667357
Family Notices (1918, March 30). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 27. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87546631
LATE CPL. C. WHITE. (1917, April 28). Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), p. 37. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164188242
Virtual War Memorial Australia https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/87715
Trove – Eyre’s Peninsula Tribune ‘Billiards’ Fri 7 June 1912 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224354589?searchTerm=Mr%20%22Joe%22%20Parish%20Billiards
National Archives of Australia – NameSearch
WW1 Biographies – folder located in Cowell RSL. Stocker, B.
Biography contributed by Heather Ernszt
Son of William White and Kate Mitchell.
Younger Brother of Horatio White who was also made the supreme sacrifice in World War I.
Click images to start slideshow.