Hutchison, William
1294 Private William Hutchison - 32nd Battalion & 5th Pioneer Battalion AIF
William was born in 1882 in Dunolly Victoria to John and Louisa Hutchison, being one of sixteen siblings born into the family.
His father died 1897 and the family moved to WA Goldfields in the 1900's.
William was married in Boulder in 1907 to Bessie Louisa Elliott and a daughter Violet born 1908 and Ethel in 1911.
The family then moved to Fremantle and lived at 193 Attfield Street. (later renumbered to 111 Attfield Street)
On the 17th 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 9 & 1/4 inches tall;
Weight - 138lbs;
Chest Measurement - 34-36 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Fair.
After his successful enlistment, William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.16 Depot Training Company. He had a few weeks being taken through the basics of infantry work and in August 1915 was assigned to "D" Company of the 32nd Battalion AIF.
The 32nd 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 32nd 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 18th 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 18th 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 8th Brigade. For the first five months of 1916 the men of the 32nd Battalion trained in Egypt while also holding sections of the Suez Canal defence line. Along with the 14th & 15th Brigades they went on to form the 5th Division AIF.
On the 3rd March 1916, William was transferred to a new unit called the 5th Pioneer Battalion. He trained with this group in Egypt for the next few months. William and his group then left Egypt on the 19th June 1916 aboard the transport ship Canada and set sail for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 25th June 1916.
After their arrival they were sent north to the Armentieres region to have their first experience of trench life on the Western Front. The 5th Division were soon thrown into an assault on the German positions at Fromelles. The attack did not succeed despite the bravery of the infantry. While the 5th Pioneer Battalion did not take part in the infantry assault on German lines they went forward in trying to improve the trenches under heavy German fire, while maintaining the main communication avenue and building a sap across No Mans Land to the part of the front that the infantry did capture. All this was done under heavy German fire. Casualties were heavy but William came safely through.
The 5th Pioneer Battalion remained in the Armentieres sector till October 1916 when they were transferred to the Somme. They then spent October 1916 to February 1917 on the wet and cold Somme battlefield in and around the ruined village of Flers, Longueval and Delville Wood. The wintry conditions were the coldest in decades and many men were evacuated due to sickness.
William did not remain there for long as on the 16th December 1916 he was wounded by shrapnel hitting him in the leg while the unit was near Waterlot Farm. After initial medical treatment, William was sent to the 3rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne. He was then shipped to England where he was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth. He would remain here for the first few months of 1917.
On the 10th April 1917 William was now finally well enough to be released from hospital. He was then granted a furlough to the 26th April 1917, after which he reported for duty to No.3 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott. William was based at Hurdcott Camp till the 3rd July 1917 when he was transferred to the Pioneer Training Battalion at Fovant Camp. He spent the next month here and was then transferred to the 9th Training Battalion at Durrington Camp.
William would remain at Durrington until November 1917. He was then sent across to France, and after a few weeks at the base depot camp, he rejoined the 5th Pioneer Battalion on the 9th December 1917. The 5th Pioneers were then based south east of Ypres, as the Australians held the line between Hollebeke and Messines. They would be here till March 1918.
On March 21st 1918 the Germans launched their Spring Offensive which broke through the Third and Fifth British Armies and captured much territory on the Somme and so the Australian divisions in Belgium were sent south to stem the advance. The Fifth Division came down and helped stop the Germans, their most notable action being at Villers-Bretonneux on the 24th/25th April 1918. The Germans had captured the village from British troops and the 4th & 5th Divisions helped recapture it.
On the 24th April 1918 during the German capture of the village they sent over large amounts of shells. The 5th Pioneer Battalion, stationed at Bussy-Les-Daours suffered 1 killed and 7 wounded from the shelling. Fortunately William escaped being hit. The 5th Pioneers then remained in the Villers-Bretonneux region for the next few months.
On the 16th May 1918 William was wounded by shrapnel but fortunately his wound was slight and he rejoined the 5th Pioneer Battalion on the 4th June 1918.
When the great advance of 8th August commenced, the 5th Pioneers followed their infantry and served at Peronne and the Hindenburg outpost line in September 1918. They were then withdrawn from the line for a rest period in early October 1918. William had come through the last few months safely. They were then sent for a rest period out of the front line. On the 30th October 1918 William was sent on leave to England and was over there when the Armistice was announced and would have had a great time celebrating the end of the war. William then returned to France on the 15th November 1918.
When the German units pulled back to their own borders, the Australians were sent to garrison parts of France and Belgium that had been under German occupation. The Australians would remain here for the next few months. However William was sent to England on the 17th December 1918 and was attached for duty to the Australian Army Provost Corps.
William would be on duty through 1919 at the AIF Camps at Tidworth and also in London at the Provosts HQ at Warwick Square. William would be on duty till March 1920. He then boarded the transport ship Wahehe and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 12th May 1920. William was discharged from the AIF on the 17th August 1920.
During his absence, William's family had moved to Boulder but on his return the family reunited in Fremantle and they would take up residence in Central Avenue Beaconsfield. They then moved to Moss Street East Fremantle.
They had a few years at Buckland Hill/Mosman Park before moving to Preston Point Road in 1936. They moved to Swan Street North Fremantle in the 1940's.
William died at Hollywood Hospital on the 14th July 1953 aged 71. He was buried in Fremantle Cemetery plot Anglican Mon A6 0455.