CROCKER, William Joseph
| Service Number: | 4468 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1915, Enlisted on 9 August 1915 in Bendigo 6th Infantry Battalion, 14th Reinforcement |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Camberwell, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Geelong , Victoria, Australia, 29 April 1975, cause of death not yet discovered, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Geelong Eastern Cemetery, Victoria Died: April 29, 1975 Buried at Geelong East. |
| Memorials: | Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4468, 6th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted on 9 August 1915 in Bendigo 6th Infantry Battalion, 14th Reinforcement | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 4468, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Jan 1916: | Embarked Private, 4468, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne | |
| Date unknown: | Honoured Military Medal, The Battle of Amiens, Recommendation: - Advance on LIHONS – August 9 & 10th 1918. 'During the advance on LIHONS Lance Corporal CROCKER personally reconnoitred and selected positions for 3 Machine Guns on the right of CREPEY Wood where the left flank of the 6th Australian Infantry Battalion was encountering fierce opposition. In the heavy bombardment which followed his gun position was blown out twice, but he kept his gun in action and materially assisted in beating off the counter attack which followed by his initiative, skill and courage he set a splendid example.' |
Help us honour William Joseph Crocker's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Jack Coyne
William Joseph CROCKER
Military Medal
Recommendation for action in the advance on LIHONS – August 9 & 10th 1918.
'During the advance on LIHONS Lance Corporal CROCKER personally reconnoitred and selected positions for 3 Machine Guns on the right of CREPEY Wood where the left flank of the 6th Australian Infantry Battalion was encountering fierce opposition. In the heavy bombardment which followed his gun position was blown out twice, but he kept his gun in action and materially assisted in beating off the counter attack which followed by his initiative, skill and courage he set a splendid example.'
William Crocker had quite a sporting life in Bendigo as a teenager. He is mentioned in local papers as a participant in the following sports, quoits, carpet bowls, basketball cricket, and athletics. His family had strong ties with St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral and the Temperance and Rechabite Movements, which included the Star of Bendigo Tent (a venue for those who shunned the imbibing of alcohol in the city)
Although enlisting in August 1915, he would not leave Melbourne till January 28, 1916. He would spend a short period of time in Egypt and reach France with the British Expeditionary Force in November 1916. He would be wounded for the first time in October 17 at Passchendaele with a shell wound to the face and be taken to behind the lines in Camiers on the west coast of France for treatment. Recovered he would spend time in both the machine gun and signal school before returning to his unit in march 1918. He would be promoted to Lance Corporal in May, suffer a bout of Influenza which took him out of the front line for two months. He returned to his unit in early July and took part in a number of decisive battles that turned the course of the war. He was promoted to Corporal on August 14, 1918 a few days after his heroic deeds at Crepey Woods.
Many A.I.F men were credited with brave deeds in their efforts to clear Germans from these woods, William Crocker from Bendigo was one of these. There is little detail on where and when Bill Crocker positioned his machine guns in support of the 6th Battalion. On the same day a Bendigo neighbour Second Lieutenant William Colborne - Veel would be seriously wounded at this same battle and be evacuated to England where he would lose his left arm following surgery.
William is wounded just nine days later on August 23 this time it was a Gun Shot wound to the back. This second wounding would spell the end of William’s fighting days and he is evacuated to Southern England for surgery and treatment.
On February 9, he would leave England on HMAT Ascanuis and arrive at Port Melbourne on April 3, 1919.
SERVICE DETAILS:
Service Number: 4468
Born: Camberwell Victoria
Address on Enlistment: 179 Queen Street, Bendigo
Occupation: Electrician
Age at Enlistment: 18
Enlistment date: 9 August 1915
Embarked: HMAT A32 Themistocles on 28 January 1916
Served: Western Front
Unit name: 6th Battalion, 14th Reinforcement & 1st Machine Gun Battalion
Final Rank: Corporal
Fate: Returned April 3, 1919. Moved to live in Geelong.
Died: April 29, 1975 Buried at Geelong east
Military Medal Source: Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 115 Date: 10 October 1919
'During the advance on LIHONS – August 9 & 10th 1918.
'On August 9 & 10, 1918 men of Australian 1st Division were ordered to take the village of Lihons south of the Somme River. The prior day the Australians and Canadians with the support of a thousand fresh American troops had routed German positions in what would become known as the famous Battle of Amiens intricately planned by Sir John Monash.
Crepey Wood lay before the town of Lihons and would need to be cleared of Germans, which would involve intense and fierce fighting.
Lieutenant Graeme Strobie with the 6th Battalion recalled that ‘the fire became intense, and the policy of advances by short rushes – fire and movement – was resorted to. Everywhere the ground spurted showers of grit; the air was full of the indescribable roar of thousands of bullets.’ [1]
[1] Australians on the Western Front 1918. Vol 2 Spearheading the Great British Offensive, David W. Cameron Penguin, Viking. P.156
Click images to start slideshow.