Junner, William Edward

973 Private William Edward Junner - 32nd Battalion AIF

William Edward Junner was born in Footscray Victoria in 1880 to Colin and Anne Junner. He was educated in Footscray and after leaving school he got into the horse racing industry.

After working as a book maker for a few years in Victoria, William travelled across to Western Australia to continue his trade, initially at the Goldfields and then Fremantle and took up residence at 125 South Terrace South Fremantle. He was a friend of another local bookmaker John Cosson.

On the 26th July 1915 William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording William's physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 8 inches;

Weight - 150lbs;

Chest Measurement - 33-35 inches;

Complexion - Fair;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Dark.

Upon his successful enlistment William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to "C" Company of the 32nd Battalion AIF.

The 32^nd Battalion was a joint South Australian & Western Australian unit with A & B Companies being formed in SA and C & D Companies in WA. William trained with the WA Companies of the 32^nd Battalion until October 1915 when they departed Fremantle Harbour for Adelaide. After their arrival in SA they teamed up with the other two companies and formed the full battalion for the first time. They remained training in Adelaide until the 18^th November 1915 when they boarded the H.M.A.T. “Geelong” and set sail for Egypt.

The journey took a month and the men disembarked at Suez on the 18^th December 1915. The men would have been expecting to be sent to join their fellow Australians at Gallipoli, however, by the time they arrived in Egypt Gallipoli was all but evacuated. The men were sent for training in the Egyptian desert and awaited the arrival of the other battalions of the 8^th Brigade. For the first five months of 1916 the men of the 32^nd Battalion trained in Egypt while also holding sections of the Suez Canal defence line. Along with the 14^th & 15^th Brigades they went on to form the 5^th Division AIF.

On the 17^th June 1916 the 32^nd Battalion went to Alexandria Harbour where they boarded the H.M.T. “Transylvania” and set sail for France. After arriving at Marseilles on the 23^rd June the men were disembarked and entrained for the north of France. They arrived in the region south of Armentieres and in mid July 1916 went into the line at Fleurbaix. The men hardly had any experience of trench life on the Western Front when they were ordered to attack the German lines at Fromelles on July 19^th 1916. The 32^nd Battalion were on the flank of the attack and though they managed to capture the German line their flank was unsupported and the Germans were able to circle behind and cut off the 32^nd Battalion. The survivors charged back through to their original line but many were shot down. Only around 150 out of 1000 of the 32^nd Battalion answered their names at the roll call following the attack.

William was shot through the chest, leg and feet during the advance. Fortunately he was able to get back to his own front line trench and was taken to the 8th Field Ambulance where his wounds were initially treated. He was then sent to the 8th Casualty Clearing Station for further treatment and was then put on an Ambulance train and taken to the French town of Boulogne where he was admitted to the 13th General Hospital. William only had a few days there as on the 22nd July was put on a ship and sent to England. He was then admitted to the 2nd Eastern General Hospital in Brighton.

He remained a patient here up until the 28th September 1916. He was then sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Perham Downs. He was then given a  two week furlough, after which he reported back to camp. Though William's wounds had largely healed he would take some time to regain full fitness. William would spent October 1916 to March 1917 at No.1 Command Depot Camp.

On the 23rd March 1917 William was sent to form part of the new 70th Battalion of the 6th Division that was being established. He trained with this group for the next few months but due to a lack of reinforcements for a 6th Division, it was disbanded and the men sent back to the original units.

On the 26th October 1917 William was sent to the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Longbridge Deverell and was taken on strength of the staff, serving there till the 30th April 1918.

On the 2nd May 1918 William was sent to France and was taken back on strength of the 32nd Battalion on the 10th May 1918.

The 32nd Battalion were then in the vicinity of Villers-Bretonneux and the Somme River. William had less than a month with the 32nd Battalion as on the 6th June 1918 he was evacuated ill and by the 12th June was back in England. He was diagnosed with general debility.

Due to his health issues the medical authorities in England advised that William be returned to Australia.

On the 12th September 1918 William boarded the transport ship Runic and sailed back to Australia, being disembarked in Fremantle on the 17th November 1918.

In 1922 in Beaconsfield William married Grace Bethune and a son Colin was born the same year. The family then moved to East Perth. William was continuing his book making trade.

William was also the honorary secretary of the 32nd Battalion association in WA.

William Edward Junner died in Perth on the 15th March 1963 aged 82. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.