Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William was the son of Nicholas Hutchings PENNY & Margaret Shirley BAIRD and was born on the 7th of November 1874 in Ballarat, VIC.

His parents were married in 1868 in Ballarat, Victoria.

His father was the son of Robert Burgoyne PENNY & Sarah HUTCHINGS and was born in 1844 in Totness, Devon, England.
His mother was born in Glasgow in 1845.

William was the third child born into the family of 8 children.

His father was a butcher and the family first lived in Ballarat before moving to Geelong.

William first went to Mount Gambier when he was 11 years old.
He returned to Geelong and became a miner and navvy for railway construction.

He made several sojourns to the Mount Gambier district before going to Western Australia, where he carried out extensive mining pursuits and also gained employment as an Engine fitter.

William married Alice Maud RICHARDS on Tuesday the 26th of February 1901 in the Baptist Church, Kalgoorlie, WA.
Alice was the daughter of John RICHARDS & Elizabeth BENNETTS and was born in 1871 in Ballarat, VIC.
William and Alice lived in Boulder and then Bulong and when Alice’s sister; Emily Jane Hudson, died on the 21st of August 1901 her husband and their 3 children moved in with them.

Emily’s husband was Thomas Hudson and he was also Alice’s cousin and brother in-law.

William filed for divorce in early 1902 as Alice had committed adultery with Thomas Hudson.
William was granted a divorce on the 7th of April 1902 and by 1906 he was living in Kalgoorlie and employed as a miner.
By 1912 he had moved to Bullfinch and the following year he was living at 1497 Carrington Street, Kalgoorlie.
He then moved to Mt Margaret and Geraldton.

At the age of 44, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 15th of March 1918 in Geraldton, WA and was allotted the service number 56385 and posted to the Western Australian, 2nd Reinforcements in Blackboy Hill Camp.

William was granted his final pre embarkation leave for 2 days on the 30th of April and then embarked from Albany on board HMAT A74 Marathon on the 29th of July 1918.

William embarked from England on the 23rd of July 1919 on board HMAT Suevic, disembarking in Fremantle on the 2nd of September and was discharged from the AIF on the 25th of September 1919.

He then returned to Geelong and was living at 77 Aberdeen Street and was employed as a labourer.
By 1921 he had moved to 1 Arnott Street and then in 1926 he moved to 77 Plenty Road, Preston. The following year William moved to 327 Punt Road, Richmond and after 12 months here he moved to 4 Little Street, Fitzroy.

In 1931 he moved to Mt Gambier where he married Lucy Maria MANSER on the 22nd of June 1932 at the residence of A. F. OLSSON, of Helen Street.
Lucy was the daughter of Edward MANSER & Maria PEPPERELL and was born on the 1st of August 1875 in Mt Gambier, SA.

William devoted the last few years of his life to cheering and attending to Lucy as she was an invalid and they lived in ANZAC Street, Mt Gambier.
William died on the 7th of November 1937 in the Mt Gambier Hospital and was buried 2 days later in the Lake Terrace Cemetery, Mt Gambier; Section M, Plot 326.

Lucy died on the 31st of August 1949 in the Mt Gambier Hospital and was buried with William in the Lake Terrace Cemetery, Mt Gambier; Section M, Plot 326.

Military

At the age of 44, William enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 15th of March 1918 in Geraldton, WA and was allotted the service number 56385 and posted to the Western Australian, 2nd Reinforcements in Blackboy Hill Camp.
He listed his father, of Geelong, VIC, as his next of kin and stated he was only 40.

William was granted his final pre embarkation leave for 2 days on the 30th of April and then embarked from Albany on board HMAT A74 Marathon on the 29th of July 1918 and on the voyage when they stopped at Capetown on the 21st of August, William left his piquet without orders and was awarded 14 days Field Punishment No.2.

He disembarked in London on the 27th of September and marched into the 1st Training Battalion in Fovant and 2 days later was posted to the 11th Battalion Reinforcements.
William trained her for the 3 months and was here when the Armistice was signed on the 11th of November.
He spent Christmas 1918 here before proceeding to France on the 25th of January 1919.

William was taken on strength 4 days later with the 11th Battalion at Chatalet.
Here William attended education classes and joined in with the physical training and the sports being played within the Battalion.
They remained here for all of February and March and the men of the Battalion slowly started to return home to Australia.
By the end of March only 9 officers and 84 men, including William, remained in the 11th Battalion and they were then amalgamated into the 12th Battalion.

William was admitted into the 2nd Field Ambulance on the 6th of April for 5 days before being discharged back to his Battalion.
He then marched out on the 20th of May to Le Havre for return to England and the following day marched into No.1 Camp in Longbridge Deverille.

William embarked from England on the 23rd of July 1919 on board HMAT Suevic, disembarking in Fremantle on the 2nd of September.

William was discharged from the AIF on the 25th of September 1919 and awarded the British War Medal.