Edwards, William Henry
693 Private William Henry Edwards - 44th Battalion AIF
William Henry Edwards was born in Gundaroo New South Wales on the 7th December 1880 to John and Anne Edwards. He had 14 siblings so it was quite a large family. William was educated locally in New South Wales.
In 1904 William married Agnes Robertson in Cootamundra New South Wales, They would have several children with, Doris (1905), Matthew (1907), Francis (1909) and Anne (1911) all born in New South Wales and then the family moved to Fremantle WA and Herbert was born here in 1913. The family resided at 284 Mandurah Rd South Fremantle and William was employed as a Ganger on the Railways.
On the 25th February 1916 William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 11 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 170lbs;
Chest Measurement - 37-40 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Blue;
Hair - Light Brown.
After his successful enlistment William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 44th battalion. He trained with this group in WA for the next few months while they waited for their embarkation orders to arrive. On the 6th June 1916, William and the 44th battalion boarded the transport ship Suevic and set sail for England.
After the long sea voyage the ship arrived at Plymouth Harbour on the 21st July 1916. For the next few months William and the 44th Battalion trained at Salisbury Plains.
On the 25th November 1916 the 44th Battalion travelled across to France and were sent to the front line at Armentieres. However William was not with them as he had been hospitalised with Bronchitis in the UK and had several more weeks in England recovering.
On the 15th January 1917 he joined the 44th Battalion in France. They were still near Armentieres but they soon moved to the Ploegsteert sector in Southern Belgium and on June 7th 1917 the Battalion took part in the Messines offensive. William survived the initial offensive but on the 24th June he was wounded by shrapnel to the right arm and face.
He was evacuated to hospital and after initial treatment and surgery in France he was sent across to England. After being released from hospital William had several months in England in the various AIF camps. His medical fitness was being assessed for front line service but due to his injuries it was advised that he return to Australia.
On the 1st February 1918 William boarded the Hospital Ship Balmoral Castle and set sail for home.
After arriving back in Fremantle, William was given a full medical examination at No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle. He was then discharged from the AIF on the 10th April 1918.
After his arrival back home, two more daughters were born, Agnes in 1920 and Nina in 1923.
The family lived in Fremantle till the mid 1920's then they moved to Spearwood and in the 1930's relocated to Toodyay.
During WW2 his son Francis was killed in July 1942 El Alamein at Ruin Ridge while serving with the 2/7th Field Company.
William Edwards died on the 3rd March 1971