William Robert Rigby

William Robert Rigby

Ancestry.com family tree Photo taken on his wedding day
Personal Information
Date of Birth	1 Oct 1897
Place of Birth	Mundijong, Western Australia
Death	30 Jan 1925
Place of Death	Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	18 years, 6 months
Description	5'8" (1.73m) tall ; 133 lbs 60.328 kg ; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Mill hand
Religion	Church of England
Address	Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr Robert Rigby
Military Information
Reg Number	2071
Date of Enlistment	16 Nov 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	10th Light Horse Regiment, 14th Reinforcements transferred to 4th Trench Mortar Battery / 4th Division
Date of Embarkation	16 Feb 1916 ‒ 13 Mar 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A69 Warilda
Date of Return	21 Jun 1919 ‒ 3 Aug 1919
Ship Returned On	SS Königin Luise
Fate	Returned to Australia
Monument	Jarrahdale Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford)
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Entered camp on 16 Nov 1915 and on 4 Jan 1916 was allocated to the 14th reinforcement draft of the 10th Light Horse Regiment, travelling with them to Egypt. On arrival he was sent to the 3rd Training Regiment before being admitted to hospital on 29 Mar 1916 with influenza. Discharged from hospital on 15 Apr 1916, he found that he had been transferred to the 4th Division Ammunition Column on 3 Apr 1916.

Taken on strength at Serapeum, he was mustered as a Gunner, before being appointed as a Driver on 1 May 1916. Along with his unit Bill boarded SS Oriana in Alexandria for Marseilles on 6 Jun 1916, arriving on the 13th. On 11 Aug 1916 he reverted to Gunner at his own request, before transferring back to the Z4A Medium Trench Mortar Battery.

On 24 Sep 1916 Bill was found guilty of being AWOL from the 2:00pm parade on 24 Sep 1916 until 4:30pm. For this misdemeanor he was awarded 1 days Field Punishment No. 2. Another bout of influenza had him in the care of the 15th Field Ambulance from 13 - 29 Dec 1916. On 26 Mar 1917 he was again AWOL briefly, from 2:00pm to 3:15pm on 26 Mar 1917 and for this he was awarded 4 days Field Punishment No.2 with loss of 4 days pay. His next transgression was a little more severe, being AWOL from 1:30pm 5 Dec till 5:45pm on 9 Dec 1917. This time the punishment was 9 days Field Punishment No.2 and 14 days pay. At the time he was on attachment to the 11th Field Artillery Brigade (12 Nov 1917 - 1 Jan 1918). With the Z4A Medium Trench Mortar Battery broken up on 21 Feb 1918, it appears that Bill was absorbed by the 4th Division Ammunition Column.

Another hospital visit occurred between 19 Apr and 4 Jun 1918, this time with Venereal Disease, before he rejoined his unit on 25 Aug 1918, where on 3 Sep 1918 he was appointed Acting Bombardier. On 12 October 1918 he 'negligently' shot himself through the right foot causing severe injury requiring attention first from the 53rd Casualty Clearing Station on 12 Oct 1918, followed by three days with the 37th Casualty Clearing Station, and then the 1st Australian General Hospital, before on 18 Oct 1918 being transferred to England where he entered the 2nd Southern General Hospital in Bristol. He was later (15 May 1919) to be found guilty of negligence and his reversion to the rank of gunner backdated to the date of the accident.

Recovered, he was granted furlough from 1 - 15 Nov 1918. AWOL again, this time from 10:00am 15 Nov till 10:00am 16 Nov 1918, he was admonished, and forfeited 1 days pay.

On 18 Feb 1919 he was returned to his unit in France until 29 Apr 1919 when he transferred to Hurdcott in England to begin the repatriation process.

Discharged 5th Military District 2 Aug 1919.

Post War

In 1920 married Lullamine Sylvia Smith. Lullamine died in 1937.

Electoral Roll entries - 1921 mill hand at Bedfordale; 1925 mill hand at Nanga Brook.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial