STEWART, William Malcolm
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | Unspecified British Units |
| Born: | Port Pirie, South Australia , 1881 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | St Peter's College, Adelaide |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Died of Wounds , Somme, Picardie, France, 27 October 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Grove Town Cemetery, Meaulte |
| Memorials: | Hackney St Peter's College Fallen Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Oct 1916: | Involvement Captain, Officer, Unspecified British Units, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17 |
|---|
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From the Book Fallen Saints
William Malcolm Stewart of North Adelaide was born at Port Pirie South Australia in 1881. He attended St Peter’s College 1894 -1899 and sometime after leaving went to South Africa, where at 19 years of age he joined the Natal Light Horse.
He subsequently joined the Third Australian Contingent. After being present in several engagements he returned to the Commonwealth with them. Captain Stewart obtained a commission in the Rhodesian Military Police, and thence went to England to enlist.
He went to France with his regiment as a second lieutenant, and he received his promotion about six months ago for gallantry in the field. [i]
On 6 April 1915, he was appointed to provisional second lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment and his rank was confirmed on 23 July.
When he died of wounds on 27 October 1916, Captain William Stewart MID of the 23rd Battalion Machine Gun Corps was 35 years of age.
Since he was wounded during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, it is possible he knew a number of the men who were operating or commanding the tanks.
Men who were felt to have an aptitude for machines were recruited or transferred to this new formation, many coming from the RNAS or the Machine Gun Corps. They and their tanks first went into action at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916. [ii]
[i] Adelaide Chronicle, 4 November 1916 p. 43
[ii] Neillands, R, The Great War Generals of the Western Front 1914-1918, Magpie Books London 2004, p. 276
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