William Randall Foggon

William Randall Foggon

Personal Information
Date of Birth	23 Jan 1918
Place of Birth	Haviton Hill, England
Death	13 Oct 1970
Place of Death	Myaree, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	21 years, 11 months
Description	5'7" (1.7m) tall ; ; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; fair hair ; scar on left thigh
Occupation	Labourer
Religion	Church of England
Address	Smail's Mill, Karragullen, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr William Foggon
Military Information
Reg Number	WX1052
Date of Enlistment	23 Nov 1939
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	2nd/11th (City of Perth) Australian Infantry Battalion
Date of Embarkation	20 Apr 1940 ‒ 19 May 1940
Ship Embarked On	HMT Y3 Nevasa Fremantle to Kantana, Egypt
Date of Return	18 Jun 1945 ‒ 24 Jul 1945
Ship Returned On	J11 England to Sydney
Fate	POW Returned to Australia
Medals	1939-45 Star Africa Star Defence Medal War Medal 1939-45 Australian Service Medal 1939-45

Pre War

Bill arrived in Australia on the SS Jervis Bay from London (12 Feb 1924), arriving in Fremantle with his parents William (A riveter) and Sybil and sister Dorreen in March 1924

War Service

Enlisted at Subiaco and was allocated to the 2/11 Battalion, 6th Division. On 30 Nov 1939 they transferred to the eastern states to join the rest of their Division. On 12 Dec 1939 at Rutherford, NSW, Bill was charged with overstaying his leave, and fined 5 shillings (50cents). At Greta, north east of Newcastle, NSW, on 1 Jan 1940 he was late returning from leave and was fined 10 shillings ($1), and forfeited a day's pay.

On 20 April 1940 they departed from Fremantle for Egypt, where ten days after their arrival Bill was involved in an accident at Gaza Ridge resulting in fracturs to his ribs and clavicle. Hospitalised in the 2nd/1st Australian General Hospital until 14 Jun 1940 when he was released to duty. On 23 Jun 1940 Bill was charged at Kilo 89 with "Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline in that he committed a nuisance outside the canteen", For which he was, the next day fined 5 shillings (50 cents).

On 31 Mar 1941, Bill was remustered as a Group III Driver, MT 1st Class, and with the rest of his unit he embarked in Alexandria for service in Greece. On 18 Apr 1941 he was admitted to hospital with urethritis and later evacuated to a Holding Hospital. On 2 Jun 1941 he was reported as missing in Greece, and on 21 Jun 1941 he was confirmed by the Red Cross as being a prisoner of war. Bill's POW number was 3678

Released from captivity, on 13 May 1945 he deplaned in the UK, as a recovered POW, and he marched in to the 1st AIF Transit Camp. On 18 Jun 1945 he embarked on J11 in England for Sydney, where he arrived on 24 Jul 1945. Bill marched out to Western Command (WA) on 2 Aug 1945. On 15 Oct 1945 he suffered accidental laceration of his right palm and has a sprained right ankle.

On 19 Dec 1945 he faced a series of civil charges in Western Australia: Speeding on 12 Nov 1945 - fined £4 and 3 shillings for costs; No Driver's Licence £1 and 3 shillings costs; Negligent driving £1 and 14 shillings and sixpence ($1.45); No Driver's Licence £1 plus 3 shillings costs.

Discharged by Western Command at Karrakatta on 23 Jan 1946.

Post War

Had married Gladys Margaret Cabbage before 1947. Gladys died on 10 Jun 2002 in Kelmscott, aged 81. Son Terence William was born 21 May 1947. Daughter Beverley Margaret was born 29 Jul 1949, and a second son Ashley Ian was born in late June 1953.

Electoral Roll entries: 1949 Welshpool road, Wattle Grove, labourer; 1954 - 1958 at Railway street, Queens Park, waterside worker; 1963 - 1968 at 96 North Lake road, Melville, Lumper.

Notes

Brother George Anthony Foggon W74828 & WX 22828 also served.

The Kalgoorlie Miner and other newspapers on 14 Jun 1941 published AIF Casualties that included 115 missing in action- with Bill named as one of them, as was Pte KJ Higgins from Kelmscott and Pte EJ Marchant of Karragullen who served with the engineers. On Friday 8 Jun 1945 the West Australian published a list of 179 former prisoners who had been released, including Pte BH Benson, Kelmscott; Pte W Foggon, Karragullen; Pte S Hancock Wongong; Pte AD Johnson, Armadale; and Pte AA Lewis, Jarrahdale.