William Carroll

William Carroll

Personal Information
Date of Birth	c Apr 1893
Place of Birth	Gorton, Manchester, England
Death	22 Oct 1953
Place of Death	Shenton Park, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	22 years, 6 months
Description	5'8¼' (1.73m) tall ; 137lbs 62.142 kg ; fresh complexion ; blue eyes ; auburn hair
Occupation	Railway porter
Religion	Church of England
Address	Mundijong, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Carroll
Military Information
Reg Number	4472
Date of Enlistment	19 Oct 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	11th Battalion, 14th Reinforcement / 3rd Brigade, 1st Division
Date of Embarkation	12 Feb 1916 ‒ 10 Mar 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A28 Miltiades
Date of Return	22 Jul 1917 ‒ 11 Sep 1917
Ship Returned On	HMAT A14 Euripides
Fate	Wounded in Action 30 May 1916 Sailly-Sur-Lys Returned to Australia
Monument	Mundijong Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford)
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Achieved Standard VII at school in the UK before emigrating from London on 25 Mar 1911 to Fremantleaboard SS Australind. Some documents put his age at 18 when he emigrated, however, the shipping record shows 17, an 'Agriculturist'. In Australia William worked on the land before becoming a railway porter.

War Service

On arrival in Suez, Egypt aboard the HMAT A28 Miltiades on 10 Mar 1916 William was sent to the 3rd Training Battalion to undertake his war readiness training. While at Zeitoun he missed a roll call at Tattoo and was awarded two days extra duties for his sin. On 27 Mar 1916 he boarded HMT Transylvania for Marseilles, disembarking on 4 Apr 1916. He then travelled to Étaples where he joined the 1st Division's Base Depot. On 26 Apr he was taken to the 26th General Hospital in Dannes Camiers, ill with an unknown infection, and was discharged on 3 May 1916.

Returned to the Base Depot, he was transferred to the 11th Battalion on 25 May 1916 along with 68 other reinforcements, joining while the battalion was in the front lines. On the 30th the Battalion's war diary records

"Enemy commenced a fierce bombardment of our lines at 8:10pm, with HE, Shrapnel, Aerial torpedoes, and bombs which lasted until 9:30pm. Result 36 OR killed, 2 officers and 59 wounded and 6 missing."

William suffered shrapnel wounds to his right foot, right leg and left arm when the dugout that he was sheltering in was blown in. He was seen next morning by the 3rd Field Ambulance and passed to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station, who in turn passed him to the 18th General Hospital in Camiers. On 18 Jun 1916 he was released to the 1st Division Base Depot, but a week later on 25 Jun 1916 required hospitalisation in the 26th General Hospital in Étaples, suffering with Pyrexia (raised temperature often caused by infections).

On 10 Jul 1916 he was sent to Calais to embark on HMHS Dieppe for England. The next day he was admitted to the 2nd Scottish General Hospital, in Craigleith, Edinburgh. On 4 Aug 1916 he was transferred to a specialist mental hospital, the Dykebar War Hospital in Paisley, a suburb of Glasgow. On 9 Mar 1917 he was released from hospital to await a ship home. However, on 16 Jun 1917 he was admitted to the Lord Derby War Hospital (previously the Lancashire County Asylum) at Winwick which by 1916 had 1,000 beds for mental patients). Released to Australian authorities on 20 Jul 1917, the next day he boarded HMAT A14 Euripides in Devonport for his return to Fremantle. His condition was monitored during the voyage home without any improvement evident - considered unable to look after himself. Following his arrival in Fremantle on 11 Sep 1917 it is likely that he would have spent a short time in the 8h Australian General Hospital in Fremantle before he was sent to the 24th Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Cottesloe, known locally as "Stromness". William was granted a medical discharge for dementia praecox (a chronic deteriorating psychotic disorder), by the 5th Military District on 10 Mar 1918, while he was a patient at Stromness 24th Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Cottesloe. Still there in in May 1918 when he was granted a pension of 60/- ($6) per fortnight commencing from 11 Mar 1918.

Post War

Electoral Roll entries - 1918

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Memorial