Grenfell, William
3371 Driver William Grenfell - 12th Field Artillery Brigade
William Grenfell was born in 1875 in Cornwall England to Mr. and Mrs. Peter Grenfell. His mother appears to have died young and William arrived with his father in Queensland Australia in 1879.
His father died in Gympie Queensland in 1890.
In 1902 in Queensland married Anna Elizabeth Louden and a daughter Lillian was born in the WA Goldfields on the 15th July 1903. Sadly his wife died shortly after birth on the 24th July 1903. William then brought his daughter up while continuing with his mining career.
He lived in the goldfields neat Trafalgar and also when in Fremantle resided at the Workers Club in Henry Street.
On the 26th July 1915 William enlisted into the AIF. He was accepted as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 7 inches tall;
Weight - 126lbsl
Chest Measurement - 36-38 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Light.
Upon his successful enlistment, William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he had two months training in the Depot Camp. On the 28th September 1915 he was assigned to the 11th Reinforcements to the 12th Battalion AIF. He trained with this group in WA through to the end of October 1915.
Their embarkation orders then came through and on the 1st November 1915 at Fremantle Harbour they boarded the transport ship HMAT Benalla and set sail for Egypt.
After arriving there at the end of November 1915, the men were disembarked and sent into the reinforcement camp. The men would have been expecting to have been sent on to Gallipoli, but with plans in place to evacuate the Dardanelles, they were instead retained in Egypt.
The 12th Battalion returned to Egypt in January 1916 however William remained in the reinforcement camp till the end of February 1916. He was then assigned to a newly forming unit, the 52nd Battalion. The 52nd Battalion was part of the 13th Brigade, 4th Division AIF.
He only stayed with the 52nd Battalion for around ten days as he was then transferred to the 4th Division Artillery. He was posted to the 112th Battery of the 24th Howitzer Brigade and was then given the rank of Driver.
On the 3rd June 1916 William and his unit left Egypt and proceeded to France, disembarking at Marseilles on the 13th June 1916. The men were then entrained north for the Armentieres sector of the Western Front. They would have their first experience of the Western Front in this sector.
The 4th Division Artillery would support the 5th Australian Division in their attack on Fromelles on the 19th July 1916, after which they headed to the Somme battlefield.
William served as a Driver for his unit taking shells up to the Batteries from the ammunition dump. He served with his unit through to January 1917. The 24th Howitzer Brigade was then disbanded and William was transferred to the 12th Field Artillery Brigade.
In April 1917 William fell ill and was evacuated, being sent to the New Zealand Stationary Hospital at Amiens. He was diagnosed with nephritis and after a few weeks was transferred o the 59th General Hospital at Amiens.
On the 1st June 1917 William was sent to the 2nd Stationary Hospital at Abbeville and spent five days there. He was then shipped to England on the 6th June 1917.
On arrival in England William was sent to the 3rd London General Hospital in Wandsworth. He remained here under care till the 23rd July 1917. He was then transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital.
William was then sent to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. In September 1917 he was transferred to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Codford. William remained here for several more weeks, then returned to France on the 2nd November 1917.
The 12th Field Artillery Brigade were currently operating near Ypres, and William joined them on the 11th November 1917.
From December 1917 to March 1918 the 12th Field Artillery Brigade would be situated in Belgium, south east of Ypres providing fire support to the front line.
On the 21st March 1918 the Germans launched their Spring Offensive in France and broke through the British front and were making a speedy advance. The Australian Infantry Divisions were then sent south to France to help stop this advance and they were soon followed by the Artillery Brigades.
However the 12th FA Brigade was still in the north of France when the Germans broke through the line in Belgium in April 1918 and helped form a defense near the La Bassee Canal. The 12th Brigade HQ just escaped capture from the Germans before they were able to withdraw to a safer distance and supported the 51st Division in resisting the Germans.
William and the 12th Field Artillery Brigade then remained in the northern French sector till the end of July 1918, when they were then sent south to the Somme to rejoin the Australians.
The 12th Field Artillery Brigade took part in the August 8th advance from Amiens when the Australian, British and Canadian infantry broke through the German lines. From then until October 1918 the Artillery continued to support the infantry in their operations against the Germans. While the Australian infantry had been withdrawn from the line in early October 1918, the Australian artillery were in action till up to the Armistice on November 11th 1918.
On the 31st October 1918 William had been granted a fortnight's leave to the UK, however a few days into his leave, he reported ill to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. He was still a patient here with the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918.
On the 20th November 1918 William was released from hospital and was sent to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. He would wait here to be assigned a berth on a troopship home.
On the 10th December 1918 William boarded the transport ship Somali and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 21st January 1919.
William was discharged from the AIF on the 5th April 1919.
He then returned to Trafalgar and reunited with his daughter.
William Grenfell died in Victoria Park WA on the 1st November 1938 aged 61. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery plot Wesleyan GA 0199.