FOULKES, William Cecil
| Service Number: | 10848 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 March 1916, Melbourne, Vic |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Divisional Train |
| Born: | Clunes, Victoria, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Clunes, Hepburn, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grazier |
| Memorials: | Clunes Soldiers Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 10848, 38th Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 May 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Driver, 3rd Divisional Train, Broadmeadows, Vic. | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Embarked Driver, 10848, HMAT Persic, Melbourne | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Embarked Driver, 10848, 3rd Divisional Train, HMAT Persic, Melbourne | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Involvement Driver, 10848, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Involvement Driver, 10848, 3rd Divisional Train, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Driver, 10848, 3rd Divisional Train, Third Ypres, Multiple SW to abdomen, legs and thighs. Evacuated to UK. Never rejoined unit. | |
| 12 Jun 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 10848, 3rd Divisional Train, RTA 16 December 1917 and discharged as MU (wounds). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
William Cecil Foulkes enlisted in the AIF in Melbourne on 27 March 1916, aged almost 22, and was transferred to the 3rd Divisional Train at Broadmeadows Camp on 9 May 1916. He embarked overseas on 3 June and arrived in England on 25 July 1916. After four months training, he departed England and arrived in France on 21 November 1916, where he joined his unit not long after.
As a Driver in the Divisional Train, he would have overseen a team of horses or mules and delivered all manner of supplies to the front-line troops and other units.
The 3rd Division moved into northern France and Belgium in mid-1917 and took part in the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917. In the lead up to the Battle of Menin Road, Driver Foulkes was severely wounded on 11 September 1917 when he was hit by multiple pieces of shrapnel in the abdomen and both legs.
He was eventually evacuated via hospital ship to England on 12 October 1917, where he spent the next two months in hospital. He never fully recovered from his wounds and embarked for Australia on another hospital ship on 16 December 1917. He arrived in Melbourne on 13 February 1918, where he was medically discharged from the AIF on 12 June 1918.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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