BILSON, William Raymond
| Service Number: | 5973 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 January 1916, 19th Reinforcements 7th Battalion |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 38th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sheffield, Tasmania, Australia, 27 May 1890 |
| Home Town: | Morwell, Latrobe, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Footscray, Victoria, Australia, 29 January 1959, aged 68 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Kentish Municipality Honour Roll Mural |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5973, 19th Reinforcements 7th Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 5973, 7th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 5973, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne | |
| 23 Sep 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 37th Infantry Battalion | |
| 14 Jun 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 5973, 37th Infantry Battalion, GSW left arm | |
| 10 Feb 1918: | Honoured Military Medal, 10 February 1918 • Military Medal for 'conspicuous services'. London Gazette 29 March 1918 ... during a raid on the enemy trenches on 10th February 1918, he displayed the utmost courage and the highest qualities of leadership ... In spite of determined enemy opposition, he led his party to its objective and inspired them all ..." | |
| 21 Sep 1918: | Transferred Private, 38th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Feb 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 5973, 38th Infantry Battalion, per Orca | |
| 15 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 5973, 38th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
William was the seventh of ten children of William James Bilson (born 1855 in Rubicon, Tasmania) and Elizabeth Mary Butler (born 1857 in Rubicon, Tasmania), William and Elizabeth married in 1977 in Port Sorrell in Tasmania and far,ed there before settling with their family in Gippsland, Victoria.
William was a Farmer at Mirboo in Gippsland, Victoria in 1915 when he married Lillian May Crole (born 1894 in Warragul, Victoria). William enlisted in Melbourne, Victoria 1916 in the AIF and served as a Private (Service No: 5973), He was WIA at Boulogne in France in September 1916, and was awarded the Military Medal in February 1918 'for conspicuous services. William was Discharged in May 1919. Younger brother John Henry also served in the AIF (Service No: 10974).
Following WWI, William and Lillian raised their family in Bairnsedale, Gippsland, Victoria where William was a Farmer until 1928 when they moved to Orbost in Gippsland and William worked as a Labourer.
In March 1942 William enlisted with the ACMF and served with 14 Volunteer Defence Corps as a Private (Service No: V365020) until September 1945. Son Ronald Edwin served in WWII with the Australian Army 3/33 Australian Infantry Battalion as a Private (Service No: V265275).
William died in 1959 and Lillian in 1987