Garner, William
11 Private William Garner - 1st Light Horse Regiment
William Garner was born in Balmain NSW in 1892 to Sidney and Annie Garner. The family soon moved to Western Australia and took up residence in Bayly Street North Fremantle.
Circa 1910 William joined the Royal Australian Navy and had the role of Officer's Steward on HMAS Protector. He deserted from this in May 1912 and then worked as a labourer in NSW.
On the 8th September 1914 William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. The medical examiner passed him as fit for service and recorded his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 4 & 3/4 inches tall;
Weight - 8 stone 6;
Chest Measurement - 30-34 inches;
Complexion - Pale;
Eyes - Hazel;
Hair - Dark Brown;
Distinctive Marks - Tattoos - woman on left forearm, swallow on base of thumb, right arm-Australian Coat of Arms, hands across the sea.
After his successful enlistment William was sent to Rosebury Park in Sydney and was assigned to the 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment. He trained there for a few weeks but on the 20th October 1914 then men left for Sydney Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Star of Victoria. The ship then set sail for Albany in WA where it joined other ships of the first convoy. The then sailed from Albany and off the WA coast met the Ships coming from Fremantle on November 2nd 1914. The 1st Convoy then departed for Egypt.
After their arrival the 1st Light Horse Regiment were sent to train at Mena Camp near Cairo. They trained here through the next few months. The Australian infantry began to leave Egypt in March 1915 however the Light Horse Regiments remained in Egypt.
In late April 1915 news came through of the landing at Gallipoli in the Dardanelles by the infantry but for the moment the Light Horse were not needed and so remained in Egypt.
In May 1915 a request was made for the Light Horse Regiments to head to Gallipoli as dismounted infantry. The 1st Light Horse Regiment landed on 12 May 1915 and was attached to the New Zealand and Australian Division. It played a defensive role for most of the campaign at Popes Hill but mounted an attack on the Turkish position known as "the Chessboard" near Popes Hill as part of the August Offensive on 7 August, 200 men from the Regiment attacked the Turkish positions and 147 became casualties.
William survived this action and remained with his unit till November 1915, during which time they had also manned No.1 Outpost. He had developed cardiac issues and was evacuated for medical care to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital at Mudros. He was then shipped to Egypt and was admitted to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Heliopolis. William remained here for a few months of treatment.
In March 1916 he was sent to the 1st Light Horse Brigade Training Regiment. He stayed with this group till the 6th July 1916 when he joined the 1st Double Squadron. The 1st Light Horse Double Squadron was a dismounted unit formed in Egypt in July 1916. It was primarily established for defense of the Suez Canal, though this unit existed for only a few months before the men were sent to other units.
In August 1916 William got into serious trouble when he fell asleep on his post while on sentry duty. He was court martialed and was found guilty, being sentenced to 12 months indentured hard labour.
On the 28th November 1916 William's sentence was suspended and he was released and was taken back on strength of the 1st Light Horse Brigade Training Regiment. However he soon developed a hernia and was sent to hospital. He was out of action till the 8th February 1917 when he returned to the Training Regiment.
On the 25th February 1917 William was sent to a School of Instruction at Zeitoun, and on his return on the 31st March 1917 was taken back on strength of the 1st Light Horse Regiment.
William was with his regiment for the operations around Gaza in April 1917 and the following month was sent to the machine gun school of instruction at Zeitoun. He finished at the school of instruction in July 1917 and was then returned to the 1st Light Horse Brigade Training Regiment. He was with this reserve unit for two months and on the 21st September 1917 rejoined the 1st Light Horse Regiment. He served through October and November 1917 in operations around Beersheba and Jerusalem and In January 1918 at Jericho.
In February 1918 William fell ill and was sent to the 1st Light Horse Field Ambulance for a few weeks and he then returned to his unit on the 3rd March 1918. He served with his unit in the Jordan Valley for the next month but in early April 1918 was sent to hospital with an inflamed abscess. William was sent to the 44th Stationary Hospital at Kantara and was then transferred to the 14th Australian General Hospital at Port Said.
He spent some time there and then in a rest camp, then returning to the 1st LH Brigade training regiment in June 1918. However he wasn't there for long before he developed an ulcer on his thigh which necessitated a few more weeks in hospital. William rejoined the 1st Light Horse Regiment on the 26th July 1918.
William then served through the next few months with his unit as they advanced towards Damascus.
In October 1918 the Turkish forces surrendered and was followed soon after by the Germans on the 11th November 1918.
On the 9th November 1918 William was sent to the 1st LH Brigade Details at Moascar in preparation for returning home. As a 1914 enlistee, William had qualified for an early return home. On the 23rd December 1918 William boarded the transport ship HMAT Argyllshire and set sail for Australia, William disembarking in Port Melbourne on the 1st February 1919.
William was discharged from the AIF in Sydney in April 1919.
William then worked as a Merchant Sailor, having signed up in the 1920's and was at this work through to the 1950's.
He returned to live in NSW and in 1967 applied for his Anzac Medallion from his house in Lidcombe NSW.
William died in Sydney NSW in 1972.