Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Enlisted and served as William Rees REYNOLDS

 William was the only son of Captain William Rees Reynolds, and Mary I.Reynolds, of Cilwenan Hill, Dinas Cross, Pembrokeshire, and of 'The Astor', Macquarie Street, Sydney, Australia. William was educated at Llandovery from 1909 until 1910, and was also educated at the Church of England Grammar School, North Sydney, Australia. William's intention was to be a farmer, and on completion of his schooling, he enrolled for a course of Instruction at Wagga Experimental Farm. However, with the advent of War, instead of chasing his dream, William enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 18 June 1915, joining the Australian Army Medical Corps at Sydney. William was later posted to England, and became an Instructor, serving on Salisbury Plain. However, William wanted action, and so transferred into the Infantry, and was soon commissioned as Second Lieutenant into the 33rd Battalion, AIF, which was part of the 3rd Australian Division. The Battalion had to wait until the emphasis of British and Dominion operations switched to the Ypres Sector of Belgium in mid-1917 to take part in its first major battle; which was the battle of Messines, launched on 7 June. The battalion held the ground captured during the battle for several days afterwards and was subjected to intense artillery bombardment. One soldier wrote that holding the line at Messines was far worse than taking it. The battalion's next major battle was around Passchendaele on 12 October. The battlefield, though, had been deluged with rain, and thick mud tugged at the advancing troops and fouled their weapons. The battle ended in a disastrous defeat. The 33rd Australian Battalion was called up to attack Crest Farm, where a previously captured pill-box had been re-taken by the enemy. It was in this attack that William was killed, along with five of his brother officers of the Battalion. He was 24 years old, and has no known grave, and so is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium.

He is remembered on the Dinas Cross War Memorial

Dinas Cross is a small village sat in a picturesque location between Fishguard and Newport in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The War Memorial to the men of the Parish that gave their lives during both World Wars takes the form of marble plaques fixed onto a masonry wall and is situated alongside the main road through the village, in front of the local school.