Westergaard, William
No.4296 – Private William Westergaard – 2nd Pioneer Battalion AIF
Alfred William James Westergaard was born in Mannum South Australia on the 17th September 1889 to James and Agnes Westergaard. He was one of several siblings, Alfred (1890), Horace (1893 & died 1893), Ernest (1894), Olive (1895), Lawrence (1897), Horace (1899), Robert (1900), Irene (1906), Beryl (1908) and Evelyn (1912).
After spending his early years in Western Australia, the family moved to Western Australia and took up residence in Fremantle.
On arrival in WA, William continued with his carpentry trade and also spent three years of service with the 11th Australian Imperial regiment.
On the 21st January 1914 he married Ruby Meiers in Fremantle and they would go on to have two children, Vera in 1914 and Jean in 1921. They lived at the corner of Mary and Fay Street North Fremantle.
A few of his brothers enlisted early in the war, but it wasn’t until the 28th May 1917 that William offered his services at the recruitment office in Fremantle. The medical examiner passed him as fit for service, and recorded his attributes as; height of 5 feet 8 inches, weight of 136lbs; chest measurement of 33-35 inches, fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was listed as Church of England.
William was then sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 12th Reinforcements to the 2nd Pioneer Battalion. Further training took place and they embarked upon the transport ship Aeneas on the 30th October 1917. The journey took two months as the ship arrived in Devonport England on the 26th December 1917. The next three months would be spent at the Pioneer Training Camp on Salisbury Plains England. It wasn’t until the 31st March 1918 that William was put in a draft of soldiers bound for France. He was taken on strength of the 2nd Pioneer Battalion in France on the 26th April 1918. The battalion was then serving around Villers-Bretonneux in France.
He remained with this unit until the 15th September 1918 when he was evacuated sick with a pyrexia of unknown origin. His recovery took several weeks and he was then attached to the Australian infantry Base Depot at Etaples, only returning to England in April 1919. He returned to Fremantle on the 2nd July 1919 and was discharged from the AIF on the 17th August 1919.
His brother Ernest died on the 12th October 1917 while serving with the 48th Battalion in Belgium. Lawrence Westergaard survived his war service and came home in 1919.
William Westergaard died on the 8th April 1928, his wife Ruby dying in 1930. Williams death was attributable to war causes as mentioned by the article below