William James Allen

William James Allen

Personal Information
Date of Birth	29 Dec 1892
Place of Birth	Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Death	14 May 1937
Place of Death	Perth, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	23 years, 4 months
Description	5' 11" (1.80m) tall ; 153 lbs 69.4 kg ; fresh complexion ; brown eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Gardener
Religion	Church of England
Address	Kelmscott, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr William Allen
Military Information
Reg Number	2045
Date of Enlistment	22 April 1916
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	44th Battalion, 3rd Reinforcement, 11th Brigade, 3rd Division
Date of Embarkation	10 Oct 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A23 Suffolk
Date of Return	9 June 1919
Ship Returned On	SS Kaiser-i-hind
Fate	Returned to Australia
Monument	Kelmscott War Memorial (West panel) listed on Monument as J.
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

William James Allen

Headstone Information
Date of Birth	29 December 1892
Age at Death	44 years
Additional Names	Dorothy Allen Ted Allen
Transcription	In Loving Memory of our dear Husband and Father William James Allen Died 14 May 1937 Aged 44 years. One of the Best.

Early Life

William was born on 29 December 1892. His father was William Allen.

Marriage

William married Dorothy Allen nee Shepherd in 1920 and was registered at Canning. They had two boys, Edward Ernest born 1926 and William John born 1922 and possibly 4 girls.

Death

William died and the age of 44 on 14 May 1937.

War Service

After seven weeks general training at Blackboy Hill camp, William was allocated to the 3rd reinforcement draft for the 44th Battalion. Other locals in the same draft were Arthur Leworthy Bettenay and Wilfred George Bettenay. Less than a month after arrival in England, William was needed in France as the 44th moved into the front line near Armentiers. From England he boarded the HMT Princess Victoria in Folkestone for France on 20 Dec 1916.

Before he could join his unit he was sent to segregation camp in Étaples on 6 Jan 1917, and on 18 Jan 1917 admitted to the 18th General Hospital at Camiers. On 10 Feb 1917 he was placed aboard the HMHS Dieppe at Calais for evacuation to England suffering with the mumps. Admitted to Lakeham Military Hospital in Norwich later that day, he was released to No. 2 Command Depot's camp at Weymouth on 2 Mar 1917, before moving to Perham Downs for a period. He re-embarked for France from Folkestone on 9 May 1917.

William rejoined the 44th Battalion near St Omer in France on 14 May 1917 where they were retraining and rebuilding after a period in the front lines.

On 16 Oct 1917 as the battalion was withdrawn from the front line east of Ypres, Bill suffered a severely scalded left foot. Treated first by the 11th Field Ambulance, he spent two days with the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station before entering the 8th General Hospital in Rouen on 19 Oct 1917. On 23 Oct 1917 Bill was embarked on HMHS St George for England where he was admitted to the Reading War Hospital the next day. [The injury was judged to have been accidental and thus he faced no punishment.] Bill was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital on 23 Nov 1917 before being released from there on furlough from 24 Nov until 8 Dec 1917, after which he reported to Sutton Veny. In preparation for a return to France he spent time in the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge Deverill.

Fit again, on 13 Mar 1918 he proceeded back to France through Southampton, and rejoined his unit six days later in the St Omer rear area. Bill was again hospitalised for illness, this time with influenza in France on 16 May 1918. Following treatment by the 11th Field Ambulance, he was passed to the 20th Casualty Clearing Station on the same day and then placed aboard Ambulance Train No.2 on 18 May for the 56th General Hospital at Étaples.

On recovering, Bill was released to his Divisional Base Unit on 4 Jun 1918, but again entered hospital on 13 Sep 1918 via the 11th Field Ambulance. Treated for a septic knee he was sent to the 41st Casualty Clearing Station on 17 Sep 1918 and admitted to the 6th General Hospital in Rouen on 18 Sep 1918. Released to the 2nd Convalescent Depot on 21 Sep 1918, the next day he was transferred to the 11th Convalescent Depot who released him on 8 Oct 1918. Bill rejoined the 44th Battalion on 14 Oct 1918.

Bill was admitted to the 11th Field Ambulance suffering with appendicitis on 25 Jan 1919, and later the same day the 3rd Australian General Hospital in Abbeville. On 3 Mar 1919 he was placed on Ambulance Train No.25 for the coast where he embarked for England and entered King George Hospital with diarrhoea and appendicitis, before being released 17 Mar 1919 for a period of furlough.

Bill returned to Australia and was discharged by the 5th Military District on 17 Jul 1919.

Allen, Wm. Jas. (Kelmscott) ILL - previously reported injured. RETURNING SOLDIERS. FURTHER LISTS. The following lists are furnished by the military authorities....: KAISER-I-HIND. 2045 Allen, W. J. The June 1937 issue of "The Listening Post" reports W. Allen's sudden death at Armadale. 1916 to 1925 Electoral Rolls give his address as Southern River, Kelmscott.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Memorial