William Savage

William Savage

WW1 Pictorial Honour Roll of West Australians accessed 7 Jan 2018
Personal Information
Date of Birth	not known 1895
Place of Birth	Sheffield, England
Death	26 Sep 1917
Place of Death	Polygon Wood, Belgium
Age at Enlistment	21 years, 1 month
Description	5'9½" (1.77m) tall; weight 163 lbs (73.9kg); Fair complexion, brown eyes, fair hair.
Occupation	cleaner
Religion	Church of England
Address	NOK Spring Park road, Midland Junction, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother Mrs Ellen Savage
Military Information
Reg Number	2991
Date of Enlistment	14 Jul 1916
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	51st battalion, 7th Reinforcement / 13th Brigade, 4th Division
Date of Embarkation	9 Nov 1916 - 10 Jan 1917
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A8 Argyllshire
Fate	Killed in Action 26 Sep 1917 Polygon Wood
Monument	Jarrahdale Honour Roll Menin Gate Memorial ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) Australian War Memorial
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

A fortnight after entering Blackboy Hill camp, William was allocated to the 8th reinforcement draft for the 51st Battalion. We might assume that e made good progress as a month later he was transferred to the earlier, 7th draft for the same battalion, travelling with them to England.

On arrival in England he was sent to the 11th Training Battalion at Codford where he had a troublesome month of February. On 11 Feb he was charged with (1) being AWOL from 1:00am on 3 Feb 1917 until 11:00am on 7 Feb 1917; and (2) failing to appear at a place of rendezvous appointed by his Commanding Officer. Found guilty he was awarded 168 hours detention, with forfeiture of 11 days pay. On the 21st he was charged with having on 18 Feb 1917 neglected to obey an order given by his superior officer in that he did not rise at reveille when ordered to do so by the Sergeant of the Guard. Awarded 2 days Field Punishment No. 2.

William proceeded overseas to France through Folkestone on 9 May 1917, and after a few days in the 4th Division's Base Depot at Étaples, he joined the 51st Battalion at Buire in France on 13 May 1917. This was just before their move from the Somme to the Messines area in preparation for an attack on German positions there over the next few months.

Four months later, William was a member of the Australian forces that attacked the German front lines in the Polygon Wood area, advancing off Westhoek Ridge. Moving into position for the attack began at 1:30am, and they advanced towards their objectives at 5:50am, and quickly achieved them with casualties described in the 51st Battalion War Diary, as very slight.

Sadly, however, William was a casualty and his records simply note that he was killed in action on that day, and that his grave was never found, leaving him to be memorialised on the Menin Gate.

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  Menin Gate memorial 2015 photo L. Reynolds

Notes

This soldier is the best fit for the W Savage on the Jarrahdale Memorial Board and the handwritten list.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial