Rawlinson, William Austin

1350 Lance Corporal William Austin Rawlinson - 32nd Battalion AIF

William Austin Rawlinson was born in Albany WA in 1892 to William and Sarah Rawlinson. He had several siblings, with, Arthur (1894), Elizabeth (1897), Madge (1899), Samuel (1901), Thomas (1905, Emily (1907) and Ethel (1912).

After William's birth the family moved to Fremantle, residing at 55 McCleery Street South Fremantle (now called 15 McCleery). William was educated in Fremantle and after leaving school he took up employment as a Butcher.

He was also a good sportsman, playing football for local football clubs including wentworth.

On the 12th July 1915 William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 6 inches;

Weight - 137lbs;

Chest Measurement - 34-36 inches;

Complexion - Fair;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Fair.

Upon his successful enlistment William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.16 Infantry Training Depot. He was taken through the basics of infantry work at this depot. On the 16th August 1915 he was assigned to "D" Company of the 32nd Battalion AIF.

The 32^nd Battalion would have two companies formed in South Australia and two in Western Australia. The Western Australian Companies were transferred to Adelaide to join their South Australian counterparts in training. The South Australians took the WA boys into their hearts and homes and many lifelong friendships sprung up.

After completing their training in South Australia, William embarked from Adelaide on the HMAT Geelong which arrived in Suez on the 18^th December 1915.

Many men of the 32^nd Battalion would have been expecting to be sent to Gallipoli but as the Allies withdrew from Anzac Cove and Suvla on the 20^th December, the 32^nd Battalion, along with the other three battalions of the 8^th Brigade were kept in Egypt. Their duties entailed protecting the Suez Canal from Turkish forces as well as undertaking further training.

Three new divisions of the AIF were about to be formed and the 8^th Brigade joined up to the 5^th Division. The 32^nd Battalion spent the first 6 months of 1916 in the Egyptian desert. It would have been a huge relief for William and the 32^nd Battalion when they received their orders to proceed for France. They arrived in Marseilles on the 23^rd June and immediately embarked for Northern France.

William didn’t have much time to get used to the front line as they were immediately sent into the debacle at Fromelles where the 32^nd Battalion was almost wiped out. William was one of the fortunate few who were not killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

He remained serving with the 32nd Battalion through the rest of 1916/17. In October 1916 the 5th Division moved to the Somme battlefield where they remained till March 1917.

In April 1917 William had a short secondment with 1st Anzac Corps HQ but returned to serve with the 32nd Battalion at Bullecourt in May 1917. The 32nd Battalion then had a three-month rest period out of the line.

In September 1917 they returned to action in Belgium during the Third Battle of Ypres, seeing action at Polygon Wood, Broodseinde and Passchendaele. William survived these battles unscathed.

In December 1917 William was granted a period of leave to England, during which time he wrote home about a mate from Fremantle, Wally Flindell;

I promised Walter {Flindell} to write you a few lines to let you know how he was faring. I went to see him after we came out from the trenches, and he looked bright and cheery. He had his right arm and leg amputated a few days previous, and looked little the worse for what he had gone through. It was marvelous how he escaped with his life. There were four of them sitting down having breakfast about nine in the morning, and a minenwerfer shell landed right in amongst them. The other three were killed outright. I was further along the trench at the time, and didn’t get a chance of seeing him till we came out. The nurses all speak well of him, and said he had a great heart. I have just finished fourteen days furlough in England and am waiting here for a boat to take me back to France. I don’t think the war can go on much longer. Something must give way sooner or later. Our battalion went through a great deal of fighting this past three months, and suffered severely. I was very fortunate and never got a scratch.

William rejoined his unit in Belgium on the 2nd January 1918.

The 32nd Battalion remained in Belgium in the first three months of 1918. On the 21st March 1918, the Germans launched their large offensive in the south which broke through the British Army front. The Australian Divisions were then moved south to help stop the German offensive.

The 32nd Battalion moved to the Daours, Gentelles and Blangy Tronville area in April 1918. They had large actions either side of them at Dernancourt and Villers-Bretonneux but got through without the Germans attacking their section of the front.

In May the 32nd Battalion moved to Vaux sur Somme and through June and July were in the area of the river Somme and Villers-Bretonneux. At this point William was promoted to Lance Corporal.

On July 31st 1918, the 32nd Battalion captured a vital position known as the Brick Beacon and they then participated in the August 8th advance from Villers-Bretonneux.

William came through this unscathed and was then sent to the Australian Bombing School for a period of instruction. He returned on the 12th September 1918 and then served with the 32nd Battalion for the next few weeks as they advanced to the Hindenburg Line. They fought their last action in late September 1918 and were then withdrawn for a rest. The Armistice was signed on the 11th November 1918 while they were still out of the front line.

On the 24th November 1918 William was sent to England on a furlough, returning to his unit on the 15th December 1918.

When the Germans withdrew back to their homeland, the Australians went into what had been German occupied parts of Belgium and France. They were based here from December 1918 to May 1919. William returned to England in March 1919 and then remained in camp until he received orders to return home.

On the 8th May 1919 William boarded the transport ship Devanha and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 22nd June 1919. William was then discharged from the AIF on the 14th August 1919.

After the war William took up work as an Orchardist but his address was 'Tyrone' South Street South Fremantle. In the 1930's he returned to the family home at 55 McCleery Street. In the 1930's this address became 15 McCleery when street numbers were changed.

William lived at 15 McCleery Street for the rest of his life.

William Austin Rawlinson died on the 15th June 1968 aged 76. He was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery.