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BOYD, William
Personal Details
| Service Number: | 649 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 June 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wyong, New South Wales, Australia, 22 January 1889 |
| Home Town: | Wyong, Wyong Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grocer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 May 1917, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France), Wyong Creek Public School Roll of Honor, Wyong War Memorial |
Service History
World War 1 Service
| 2 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 649, 1st ANZAC Cyclist Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 649, 1st ANZAC Cyclist Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 649, 1st ANZAC Cyclist Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney | |
| 5 May 1917: | Involvement Private, 649, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 649 awm_unit: 4th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-05-05 |
Personal Stories
Help us honour William Boyd's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William Boyd was newly married to Ellie and his son was born only four months before he embarked for overseas. The 4th Battalion was not in the front line at the time but was close up in support and suffered very badly due to very heavy German shelling of the support lines. According to his Red Cross file, Boyd was in a bombing post held by the 13th Platoon of D Company 4th Battalion, near Bullecourt on 5 May 1917. A direct hit on the post by an artillery shell, resulted in the deaths of 8 of the 11 men in the post.