Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Herbert was the son of George WEIDENHOFER & Lydia Eliza JACOBS and was born on the 19th of September 1881 in Woodside.

Herbert, known as “Bert”, as a youth he helped his father on the farm at Woodside and then at Bow Hill on the River Murray.

By about 1912 the family moved to 22 Albert Street, Payneham, as his father’s health was failing.

Bert was able to find work with a State Government Surveyor’s team. At this time the Survey Department needed labourers to help clear the land in out-lying areas which they then leased to prospective farmers.

After his father died in 1915, Bert enlisted into the 9th Light Horse, 19th Reinforcement on the 11th of February 1916 and was allotted the service number 2765. His brothers Frederick and Charles also enlisted.

Bert spent several months at the Mitcham Training Camp before embarking on the Transport Ship “Mongolia” on the 13th of July 1916.

He saw service in Egypt and Syria,

He was involved in the fighting to secure the Turkish outposts of Maghdaba and Rafa, both of which were captured at bayonet point. The next Turkish stronghold to be encountered was Gaza. They were involved in the two abortive battles to capture Gaza directly and then the operation that ultimately led to its fall - the wide outflanking move via Beersheba that began on the 31st of October 1917.

Bert returned to Australia on the “Dongola” on the 26th of July 1919 and was discharged on 23 August 1919.

Returning to civilian life, Bert found employment with the South Australian Railways at Tailem Bend, and it was here that he met Sarah Martin, who had migrated with her parents from Ely, in Cambridgeshire in England.

Sarah’s father had been employed at Tailem Bend, dredging the swamp land near the banks of the River Murray and then planting willow trees to prevent the river banks from collapsing. The willows flourished, but the majestic river red gums which grew naturally on the riverbanks, were unable to compete with the introduced willows and gradually died.

Bert and Sarah were married on the 20th of July 1921 at the residence of the Reverend H. E. Hughes of the Baptist Church, Wellington Street, Alberton.

They lived at Findon, and Sarah’s parents moved to nearby Cheltenham.

They welcomed their first child into the family; Richard, in August 1922 and later that year they moved to Ponde where three other Weidenhofer families had settled.

Bert built a house of concrete and mesh, which helped to keep it cool in summer. Although Bert and Sarah’s three other children, Herbert, Dawn and Ronald were all born in Cheltenham, the family continued to live at Ponde, maintaining a dairy farm.

In 1937 Bert was aware that another war was looming in Europe. Not wanting his sons to suffer the same indignities that he had endured because of his German name, changed the family name, by deed poll, to Willcourt.

By 1940, Bert sold his Ponde lease, and took up the licence of the hotel at Eden Valley. Johnson’s Brewery at Oakbank owned the hotel and one of the stipulations with the owners was that the licensee served exclusively Johnson’s beer.

Bert was a member of the Mt Pleasant RSL Sub Branch.

By 1948, with the family grown up, Bert and Sarah returned once more to the Cheltenham area. Sarah’s mother owned a large area of land at Hendon where her son kept a herd of cows and managed a dairy. Some of this land was sold to the Government which set up temporary accommodation for migrant families wishing to settle in Australia after the war.

In 1952 Bert built a home at 83 Tapleys Hill Road, Hendon. The house was almost completed when Bert fell from the scaffolding. He appeared to have recovered but a few days later, he died suddenly on the 17th of January 1953.

He was buried in the Cheltenham Cemetery.

In June of the same year, sadness was again in the family, when their youngest son, Herbert was killed in a motor cycle accident in Woodville West.

Sarah then chose to live in Mt. Gambier where their eldest son, Richard and his wife, June, were living.

Mt Gambier was to be Sarah’s home for another 30 years, until she died there on the 6th of July 1982.