Elsegood, William Clifford

1815 Private William Clifford Elsegood - 34th Battalion AIF

William Clifford Elsegood was born in Geraldton in 1899 to William and Marion Elsegood. He was one of five children, with Violet, Geraldine and Clarence being born in Geraldton and Marian in Fremantle. William had received his education in Geraldton though after leaving school the family returned to live in West Perth. It appears that William soon got a labouring job in Fremantle and he therefore boarded in the Port City to be closer to his workplace.

On the 17^th March 1916 William went to the Fremantle Drill Hall to enlist. Despite only being 16 years old he put his age up to 18 & ½ and successfully enlisted into the AIF. The medical examiner recorded William’s physical attributes as;

Height:                                     5 feet 7 & ½ inches;

Weight:                                    134lbs;

Chest Measurement:               32-36 inches;

Complexion:                            Fair;

Eyes:                                       Brown;

Hair:                                        Fair;

Religious denomination:         Church of England

Distinctive Marks:                    scar on right forearm.

After his successful enlistment William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.57 Training Depot. He would learn the basics of soldiering here for the next two weeks but on the 16^th April he was transferred into the 20^th Reinforcements to the 16^th Battalion. William trained with this group for the next several weeks however on the 10^th June 1916 he was transferred to Claremont Showgrounds Camp where he was allotted to the 2^nd Reinforcements to the 44^th Battalion AIF.

William would train with this group in WA for the next two months while they waited for their departure orders. Prior to their embarkation, William and his reinforcement group had their photo taken at Claremont Camp.

Their embarkation orders finally arrived and on the 9^th August 1916 William and the 2^nd Reinforcement Group boarded the HMAT Miltiades in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for England. The journey took seven weeks and they berthed at Plymouth Harbour on the 25^th September 1916.

After being disembarked the men were marched into the 11^th Training Battalion at Codford Camp on the Salisbury Plains. On the 13^th October 1916 William was taken on strength of the 44^th Battalion however on the 11^th November the men from 2^nd Reinforcements to the 44^th Battalion were transferred to the 33^rd and 34^th Battalions of the 9^th Brigade AIF. William would join the 34th Battalion but he didn’t have long with his new unit in England as the 34th embarked from Southampton on the 21^st November 1916.

The 3^rd Division units were sent to what was called the Nursery sector near Armentieres. It was so called as at this stage it was a quiet part of the front line for new troops to acclimatise to the conditions of the Western Front. William saw service with the 34^th Battalion at the front until the 7^th January 1917 when he was detached for duty with a Railways Unit. This detachment lasted until the 24^th February when he returned to the 34^th Battalion. The Battalion remained in the Armentieres sector until May 1917.

On the 9th May William got into trouble for failing to attend a parade called by his Company CO and as a result he was awarded 5 days of Field Punishment No.2. However once this punishment was completed William moved with the 34^th Battalion to the Ploegsteert sector in southern Belgium. The Battalion was now preparing to take part in the Messines offensive. However on the 29^th May William was included in a party sent to reserve positions where they formed the battalion nucleus. It was now common practice before large attacks for units to leave a nucleus out of the battle, so in case of that unit being destroyed in battle there would be a base to rebuild from.

William rejoined the 34^th Battalion on the 13^th June, a week after they had successfully taken their objectives in the June 7^th Messines assault. William remained at the Messines front for the next six weeks though towards the end of July the 34^th Battalion was withdrawn from the line and they spent August and much of September out of the front line where they undertook much training and sporting activities.

Towards the end of September 1917 the 34^th Battalion returned to the front as they were about to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres. The 34^th held territory near Broodseinde and Zonnebeke that had been recently captured and therefore they were under heavy shellfire from the Germans. On the 1^st October at Zonnebeke William was wounded when shrapnel hit him in the foot. He was taken back to the 3^rd Field Ambulance and after initial treatment was forwarded on to the 10^th Casualty Clearing Station. On the 5^th October 1917 William was then entrained for the French coast where he was admitted to the 7^th Canadian General Hospital at Etaples. He remained here for six days and was then shipped to England. After arriving in port William was sent north and admitted to the 1^st Birmingham War Hospital. He would remain recovering in hospital here for the next two months and on the 24^th December 1917 William was transferred to the 1^st Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield. He was given a full medical examination and it was found that due to his foot wound William would be unfit for further military service. On the 4^th January 1918 William was transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth where he waited for a berth back to Australia.

On the 15^th February 1918 William went to Plymouth and boarded the Hospital Ship Llanstephen Castle. The ship brought William back to Western Australia, disembarking at Fremantle on the 8^th April 1918.

 After a medical examination at No.8 AGH in South Terrace Fremantle, William was discharged from the AIF on the 22^nd May 1918.

After returning home to Fremantle; William moved to NSW and in 1929 he married Vera Uhl in Broken Hill. He remained in NSW until his death in Newtown in 1958.

(Photo of William courtesy of his Ancestry family page)