Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Described on enlisting as 18 years 7 months old; single; 5' 7 1/2" tall; 144 lbs;
fresh complextion; brown eyes; dark hair; Presbyterian

Father Ebenezer Badenoch  and  Mother  Mr Rose Elizabeth Badenoch, Mt Gambier, SA.

Three sisters:  Dorothy Jean Badenoch; Marjory Olive Badenoch; Hilda Roe Badenoch.

Previous service:  Military Cadets

8/2/1916        Enlisted in Mt Gambier                     

8/2/1916        Completed medical - fit for service

9/3/1916        Commanding Officer appointed William to
                      43rd Infantry Brigade D Company  
                      Morphettville Camp                   

9/6/1915        Embarked from Outer Harbour SA on 'HMAT Afric A19'
20/7/1916      Disembarked into England

25/11/1916    Proceeded overseas to France, from Southampton, England

10/6/1917      Wounded in action, France

11/6/1917      To Casual Clearing Station

22/6/1917      Embarked for England, per 'HS Jan Breydal'
                      Gunshot wound to arm, back and nose
                      Admitted to Queens Canadian Military Hospital
                      Beechborough Park,

4/8/1917        Shell wound - Gunshot wound t right elbow
                      at No.2 Australian Command Depot Medical Centre, Weymouth
                     

9/10/1917      Proceeded overseas to France, ex Parkham Downs
                      Training Brigade
23/10/1917    Rejoined 43rd Brigade

17/2/1918      on leave to England

7/3/1918        Rejoined 43rd Brigade in France from leave

1/9/1918        Killed in action, near Mont St Quentin, France
                      buried 700 yards, north of alliances

                      Exhumed and reburied in Perronne Communal Cemetery Extension
                      Peronne, Picardie, France
                      Plot III, Row L, Grave 4

Medals:
Star 1914/15; British War medal (40557); Victory medal (40144);
Memorial Plaque and Memorial Scroll (350940).

Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan.  14 September 2014.  Lest we forget.

  William Henry Badenoch a young man from country South Australia and was the third child of Ebenezer and Rose, both of whom were children of pioneer families. William Henry's Grandfather was a successful business man who traded and sold produce either grown locally or imported. This business was subsequently run by his parents and evolved into a store with a groceries, butcher shop and bakery.

 William having grown up within the busy household where he and his siblings worked in the enterprise,  took a liking to baking and consequently assisted his father as a baker's assistant. He also was a member of the Junior Lodge of the Oddfellows.

William had six siblings an older brother and sister, James Ebenezer and Dorothy Jean (Watson) and three younger, Marjorie Olive, Archibald Montgomery, Vernon (Bernard) Thomas and Hilda Rose (Smith).

 William was under 18 when he initially enlisted at Mount Gambier, South Australia in February of 1916. He was posted overseas in June of 1916, sailing direct to England where he undertook further training before being posted to join the 43rd Battallion in France and subsequently to the front. Here in the Battle of Messines he was badly wounded and was repatriated to England for treatment. Recovered from his wounds he returned to his Battallion. He was again involved in heavy fighting until ultimately giving his life near Mont St. Quentin on the 1st of September 1918, he was 20 years old.

 William was ultimately (having been exhumed from his original burial site located 700 yards North from the Alliances) buried at the Personne Communal Cemetery Extension, on the Rue des Plantanes, Peronne, France. 

Sadly for the family William's younger sister was to pass away in January 1919 of the Spanish Flu. His younger brother Archibald, who became a prominant policeman in South Australia, enlisted in the Army in WW2 and was killed at El Alamein in November 1918.

William was sorely missed by his family as "The In Memoriam" notices in the local newspaper of subsequent years were sad testimony to the death of their son and brother. Taken from them far to soon, a recurring wish of the family was that they fervently hoped that a stranger would place a flower at his gravesite.