SERVICE PERSON RESEARCH
SERVICE PERSON DETAILS
Service Person’s
William John Willshire
Name
Rank
Private
Service Number
Regiment/Unit or
Ship or Squadron
237
Place of Birth
Tambo, Queensland, Australia
Family Details
Single
Parents were William John and Mary Ann Willshire
Age at Enlistment
Place of Enlistment
31
Rockhampton, Queensland (Friday, 21 January 1916)
Date of Death
13 June 1917
Place of Death
Steenwerck, France
Cemetery or
Memorial Name
Grave or Memorial
Number
11th Australian Machine Gun Company
Western Front, Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck
Grave Reference: I. S. 24.
PHOTO:
Studio portrait of 237 Private (Pte) William John Willshire, 11th Machine
Gun Company, of Tambo, Qld. A labourer before enlisting in January 1916,
Pte Willshire left Australia for England with the 1st Reinforcements in June
1916, and arrived in France for service on the Western Front in November
1916. Pte Willshire was wounded in the spine, neck and abdomen at
Messines on 10 June 1917. He was evacuated to the 2nd Australian
Casualty Clearance Station at Steenwerck where he died three days later,
aged 32.
Australian War Memorial 2014, P07531.001,
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P07531.001
(accessed 19 February 2015)
SOLDIER’S STORY/EULOGY:
Prepared by Taylor Whitewood
William John Willshire was only 29 when he enlisted during World War 1. The war was entering its second
year when William, a young man from Tambo, Queensland, decided to enlist.
Born from William John and Mary Ann Willshire, William was a labourer, not married, and with no children
of his own. On 21 January 1916, William enlisted, and was sent to Sydney, leaving Tambo for the last time.
John was assigned to the 11th Machine Gun Company, Reinforcement 1, and he was ranked as a Private.
He spent some time in Sydney before he and his unit left Sydney on 5 June, aboard the HMAT Borda.
William was bound for England, along with the other reinforcements. It was not until November 1916 that
William arrived in France for service along the Western Front, which was an extremely dangerous area
during World War 1. Little is known of how Private William spent the next months, however one can
assume that the conditions and experiences on the Western Front were both horrific and confronting.
Launched on 7 June, the Messine offensive, or Battle of Messines, was designed to force the German
enemy to withdraw from the main battlefront of Vimy. The Battle of Messines was a tactical success
because of its overwhelming firepower and careful long-term planning, and the attack lasted several days.
The attack did, however, result in the deaths of hundreds of Australian soldiers, and Private William John
Willshire was killed during the battle.
William was wounded in the spine, neck and abdomen on 10 June 1917 at Messines. He was evacuated to
the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearance Station at Steenwerck, where he died three days later on 13 June
from his wounds. William John Willshire left behind his mother, Mary Ann Willshire. He is now buried at
Trois-Arbres Cemetery in Steenwerck, France.
William served his country bravely, and gave his life for all of us and for our futures. It is my hope that
today, William lies in peace with the knowledge that we are ever grateful for the sacrifice he gave.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Australian Army, The Battle of Messines,
http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/History-in-Focus/The-Battle-of-Messines-1917
(accessed 10 February 2015)
Australian Commonwealth Military Forces, William John Willshire,
http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/showPerson?pid=327044 (accessed 10 February 2015)
Australians on the Western Front, Messines,
http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/search/search.php? (accessed 10 February 2015)
Australian War Memorial 2014, Roll of Honour - William John Willshire,
http://www.awm.gov.au/people/P10270253/rolls-and-awards/ (accessed 19 February 2015)
Australian War Memorial 2014, P07531.001, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P07531.001
(accessed 19 February 2015)
National Archives of Australia 2015, WILLSHIRE William John : Service Number – 237,
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8855307
(accessed 19 February 2015)
National Library of Australia, Willshire,
http://trove.nla.gov.au/result?q=William+Willshire (accessed 19 February 2015)
RSL, William John Willshire,
http://www.rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/122108 (accessed 19 February 2015)