BAWDEN, William Gilbert Harvey
| Service Number: | 318 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 January 1916, Enlisted at Perth, WA |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 44th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Fremantle, Western Australia, July 1897 |
| Home Town: | Fremantle, Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Fremantle Boys' School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Accumulated war related, London, England, 14 April 1930 |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 318, 44th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Perth, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jan 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 44th Infantry Battalion | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 318, 44th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 318, 44th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suevic, Fremantle | |
| 14 Feb 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 44th Infantry Battalion | |
| 8 Mar 1917: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches, Work at Armentieres on 8 March 1917. Commonwealth Gazette Number 189 on 8 November 1917 Also awarded French Croix de Guerre London Gazette 14 July 1917, page 7095, position 4 Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 8 November 1917,page 2937, position 124 | |
| 8 Mar 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 318, 44th Infantry Battalion, Gunshot wound to the forehead and right eye | |
| 19 Feb 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 318, 44th Infantry Battalion, Discharged at 5th Military District as medically unfit due the face and loss of right eye and left eye badly impaired |
Help us honour William Gilbert Harvey Bawden's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of William Henry and Emma BAWDEN of 9 Hampton Road, Fremantle, WA
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Commenced return to Australia on 27 September 1917 on board HT Suevic disembarking at Fremantle, WA on 12 Novenber 1917
Medals: Croix de Guerre awarded 1917 (French), British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From Philippe Clerbout, Danièle Aurich and Gonzague Carpe
Many soldiers were decorated during the First World War mainly for military actions. Today, I will tell you about the French medal "Croix de Guerre" received by the Australian corporal W.G. BAWDEN - 44th Bn - 1AIF - Service number: 318.
"The French Croix de Guerre (War Cross) was awarded for bravery to military personnel who were mentioned in dispatches.The 44th Battalion's William Gilbert Harvey Bawden was a recipient of this award. He was praised for his valuable service in trenches, his great coolness under heavy fire ans his consistent devotion to duty. The award came at a price.
In january 1916 at the age of 18 years, William Bawden of Fremantle, then a clerk, enlisted for war. He was to serve with the AIF's 44 th Bn. Bawden left for war with the battalion in June 1916 and found himself in France at the end of the year.
While serving in France in March 1917 he heard cries for assistance from an Armentieres factory under shell fire from the Germans. He immediately entered the building and assisted in the task of recovering wounded workers. While engaged in this work, he was severely wounded by a shell burst.
Bawden's right eye was removed in France and vision in his left eye was greatly impaired. The loss of bone and the result cavity on the inner side of his right eye socket saw subsequent bone grafts and the insertion of a small articial eye. Bawden was transferred to hospital in London and then he returned home, stay at the No. 8 AGH Fremantle from November 1917 to February 1918.
The state governor presented Bawden with is Croix de Guerre at the Claremont Showgrounds on Anzac Day 1918. A crowd of around 1000 returned soldiers cheered loudly as the hero was presented with his honour. In 1921, Bawden returned to England to gain some training at St Dunstan's. This facility for blind war veterans provided him with training for a career as a masseur. In late 1922, Bawden married Laura a nurse and lived and workend in London.
Bawden became a keen rower and talented sportsmann, winning many trophies. He later suffered problems related to his war wounds and died on 14 April 1930.
His St 'Dunstaner' friends expressed their sorrow on his death.
"No one could meet such a splendid character without feeling the deepest admiration for his great courage. He was every inch a man"
This text is taken from the book "The Western Suburbs at War" published by the Freshwater Bay Museum and offered by my friend Neville Browning.
This story touches me a lot because the city of Armentières is a few kilometers from my house and this French medal was awarded for human and not military action. Isn't this also one of the values of ANZAC soldiers? I hope that one day, the city of Armentières will honor this soldier by giving his name to a street in the city?
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