WHITE, William Joseph
| Service Number: | 1900 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 34th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | South Yarra, Victoria, Australia, 21 January 1889 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Cook |
| Died: | Tuberculosis, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia, 17 September 1939, aged 50 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rookwood Cemeteries & Crematorium, New South Wales Catholic Mortuary 2 and 3, Section 16, Row 9, Plot Number 489,Rookwood Cemetery, Lidcombe, New South Wales |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1900, 34th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Sep 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1900, 34th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 26 May 1917: | Transferred 34th Infantry Battalion, Seconded to the 11th Field Company (Fd Coy), Australian Engineers, for work leading up to the Battle of Messines. | |
| 13 Jun 1917: | Transferred 34th Infantry Battalion, Returned to the 34th Battalion after secondment to the 11th Field Company, Australian Engineers. | |
| 21 Jun 1917: | Transferred 34th Infantry Battalion, Medical, non-battle casualty, to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station, Bailleul. | |
| 21 Jun 1917: | Transferred 34th Infantry Battalion, Medical, non-battle casualty, to the 77th Field Ambulance, RAMC. | |
| 23 Jun 1917: | Transferred 34th Infantry Battalion, Medical, non-battle casualty, to the 1st Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France. | |
| 25 Jun 1917: | Transferred 34th Infantry Battalion, Medical, non-battle casualty, to Southwark Military Hospital, London. | |
| 3 Mar 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1900, 34th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Rob Gray
Will led an interesting life, enlisting seven times in the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF), marrying twice, once bigamously, and maintaining de facto relationships while still married. He was father to at least five children with three different mothers. He worked variously as a bushman, labourer, soldier and cook, mostly in hotels. One of his daughters-in-law highly commended his cooking skills.
While one can never be certain about the character of a person one has never met, and who did not attract the attention of biographers during or after his lifetime, Will appears to have been a charming, likeable man who was a good father and probably a hopeless romantic - a real Sentimental Bloke. Certainly, he seems to have done his best, despite ill health and poverty, to raise and love his children.
One other thing that may be of moment with respect to his character is that, although apparently a ladies man, there is no reference to his ever having contracted venereal disease, despite this being commonplace in the AIF. Will also seems to have been somewhat restless and free-ranging, as his many residential addresses attest.
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