William Arthur Green

William Arthur Green

Arthur Green in 1969. Image courtesy of Mike Green.
Personal Information
Date of Birth	c1893
Place of Birth	Stafford, England
Death	7 Jun 1974
Place of Death	Hollywood Repatriation Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	22 years, 9 months
Description	5' 10½" (1.79m) tall ; 159 lbs 72.121 kg ; fresh complexion ; blue eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Sleeper hewer
Religion	Church of England
Address	John street, Armadale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs Annie Yates Green
Military Information
Reg Number	5105
Date of Enlistment	4 Jan 1916
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	16th Battalion, 16th Reinforcement, transferred to 48th Battalion
Date of Embarkation	31 mar 1916 ‒ 24 Apr 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A9 Shropshire Fremantle to Alexandria
Date of Return	28 Aug 1917 ‒ 14 Oct 1917
Ship Returned On	HMNZT Pakeha
Fate	Wounded in Action 20 Nov 1916 Gueudecourt area
Monument	Armadale War Memorial (Armadale panel) Armadale and Districts Roll of Honour
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Electoral Roll entries - 1916, John Street, Armadale - sleeper hewer.

War Service

Entered Blackboy Hill camp on 11 Jan 1916 and was allocated to undertake his early training with the 42nd Depot Company. On 13 Mar 1916 Bill was allocated to the 16th reinforcement draft for the 16th Battalion.

Travelled with them to Egypt, where he was sent to the 4th Training Battalion to complete his training before being transferred to the 48th Battalion reinforcements.

On 7 Jun 1916 he embarked in Alexandria for France, entering via Marseilles on 14 June 1916 aboard HMT Huntspill. Bill joined his battalion in the field on 14 Aug 1916 when they were spread very thin, holding the front line near the Bapaume road, Warloy without any reserve troops.

On the day he was wounded the Unit War Diary reads

"20/11/16 Men hard at work clearing mud out of trenches and deepening communications trench. Enemy artillery very active - 8 casualties, 2 since dead. Arrangements working well for supply of hot food to men in the front line. The food is cooked in FLERS and carried by fatigue parties 1500m to the front line."

Bill is one of the eight casualties, having received a shell wound to his chest. Treated first by the 3rd Stationary Hospital in Rouen, he was evacuated on 30 Nov 1916, first to England on the HMHS Western Australia from Rouen. In England Bill was treated at the American Women's War Hospital in Paignton, Devonport from 1 Dec 1916 until 11 Apr 1917, and given time to recuperate in the 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospital from 13 Apr - 2 Jun 1917 when he was granted furlough from 2 - 18 Jun 1917. Returning from leave Bill was sent to No.2 Command Depot at Weymouth on 31 Jul 1917 and then sent to Australia on the HMNZT Pakeha for a 'change'. He was discharged at 5th Military District on 2 Nov 1917, Bill received a pension of 40/- per fortnight from 3 Nov 1917.

"he was in the firing line from 2nd July until December (Nov in Army records) before being wounded and in the American Women's Hospital for treatment."

"Leane's Battalion" quotes a letter that Bill had written:

"We had to take some Lewis gun carts away about three miles to be mended. There were three on each one. Alf Gray, Ernie Beaton and myself on ours. We travelled about a mile and we came to an estaminent and we were feeling very dry so we went in and had a feed of egg and chips. Then we ordered some wine. Champagne it was called. It was five francs a bottle. Well we emptied about ten bottles between us so we began to feel the effects a good bit, forgetting all about the carts......."

Postcard from Arthur Green to Frank Green, 1916

Post War

On 22 Apr 1920 Bill married Elsie Saw (1889-1965) in Armadale. Children Ernest Oliver Binns (1921-1984); Arthur Errol (1922-1997) and four others. Electoral Roll entries: 1922 - 1931 with Elsie, a farmer at "Litchfield" Allanson, Collie; 1936 - 1943 farmer at "Boorals", Serpentine; 1949 Seventh road, Armadale (1954 Isobel Evelyn also) (1958 Annie Margaret also); 1972 farmer at 114 Eleventh Ave, Armadale.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial