WILLIAMS, Henry Parks
| Service Number: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment (XXII Corps) |
| Born: | Violet Town, Victoria, 1868 |
| Home Town: | Violet Town, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Violet Town State School |
| Occupation: | Saddler |
| Died: | Mansfield, Victoria, 1938, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Mansfield Public Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Euroa Telegraph Park, Violet Town Honour Roll WW1, Violet Town Primary School Honour Roll, Violet Town St Dunstan's Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement 4, 4th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked 4, 4th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 7 Jul 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sergeant, 2nd ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment (XXII Corps) |
Help us honour Henry Parks Williams's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elsa Reuter
WILLIAMS Henry Parks 4 SGT
2nd Anzac Light Horse Regiment
1868-1938
Henry’s father, also Henry, owned the coach station in High Street. With his wife Frances (Marshall) they were famous for their hospitality.
Henry and Frances raised five children of whom Henry Parks was the third, born in 1868. There was another son and then a daughter, Florence (Flo). Flo carried on and managed the coaching station until it was superseded by the railways in the middle 1800s. Over the years the buildings have collapsed and all that remains is a pile of rubble.
Henry was working as a saddler at Mansfield, apprenticed to Mr C Boles when he enlisted on 20 August 1914, aged 45. Two months later he was in the first draft of soldiers to leave Australia on HMAT Wiltshire. After docking at Fremantle the Australian convoy was threatened by the German ship Emden which was eventually sunk by HMAT Sydney at the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
On arrival in Egypt, Henry was encamped at Mena, south of Cairo. He remained there during the Gallipoli campaign; while there he was hospitalised twice, once with abscesses on his legs and then with mumps.
In June 1916 he embarked from Alexandria for Marseilles to be taken on strength of the 2nd Anzac Mounted Regiment which was part of the 5th Australian Division fighting at Fromelles. The following March 1918, Henry was granted leave after which he reported to the Administration Headquarters in London. He returned to Australia aboard the HS Awara on 17 November 1919 for discharge.
Later in 1919 Henry married Rose Anna Kennedy; there were no children. He returned to his pre-war occupation as a saddler in Mansfield until his retirement. He died at home in High Street in 1938 and is buried in the Mansfield Cemetery. Rose is also buried there.
Service Medals: 1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal
Memorials: Violet Town State School Honour Board
St Dunstan’s Anglican Church, Violet Town
Main Honour Board, Memorial Hall, Violet Town
Copper Plaque affixed to exterior wall of Memorial Hall, Violet Town
Tree No 19 was planted in 1917 by Mr Wilkinson.
In 2013 a callistemon - King’s Park Special - was planted by Cr Pat Storer.
© 2016 Sheila Burnell
Click images to start slideshow.