The Family of Jane BEER of Cairns, QueenslandWilliam George BROWN - Oldest son of Jane BEER and Samuel BROWNWilliam was the oldest child of Jane and Sam BROWN. He was born on 1 September 1894 in Bowen, Queensland. Little more is known about William until he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 11 January 1915. He joined D Company of 25th Battalion and was sent overseas on 29 June 1915. He arrived in the Gallipoli Peninsula 4 Sept 1915 and was promoted to Lance Corporal on 20 November 1915. He was wounded in the head and arm and on 4 December 1915 was transferred back to Alexandria. He rejoined the 25th Battalion on 19 March 1916 and reverted to Private at his own request. He then disembarked in France. He was wounded in the leg and face and on 4 August 1916 embarked at Calais on HS "DIEPPE" to England and hospital. By November he was back in France and rejoined the Battalion on 13 January 1917. On 6 June 1917 he made a Will in favour of a Miss May
McBride of New St, Killarney, Ireland. Presumably she was working as a
Nurse in one of the field hospitals. But...... In September the 25th Battalion returned to the front line. William was discharged from hospital on 16 September 1917 just in time to rejoin his battalion for the attack on Menin Road in Belgium on 20 September. Apparently he did not like the prospect as he went absent, was apprehended at 1am "in possession of spirits" and "in possession of a comrade's Pass" and was fined 14 days pay. During the battle for Broodseinde Ridge, which the 25th captured on 4 October, William again went missing. He faced a General Field Court Martial for being Absent Without Leave for the periods 1/10/17 to 28/10/17 and 9/11/17 to 3/12/17. Sentence was 90 Days of Field Punishment No. 1 (being chained to an object for 2 hours per day). He was again court martialled for absence from 13/3/18 to 22/3/18 when he was arrested by French Gendarmes. He was sentenced to 10 days Field Punishments No. 1&2. On 9 April 1918 he was again posted as missing and on 13 April 1918 he was killed as the result of enemy aircraft action. WIlliam George TAYLOR is buried at St Pierre Cemetery, Amiens, France.
War Service RecordThere are several puzzling aspects to Will Taylor's Service Record. First he enlisted as TAYLOR, the name of his step-father, rather than as William BROWN. Second, his father's name is recorded as Frederick Charles TAYLOR, and this name is used consistently throughout the record. It is also the name used for correspondence, and the signature for the receipt of medals after the war. It is the only circumstance that this name is used, as far as I can determine. Strangely, William's half brother Charles TAYLOR also enlisted and he recorded his father as Charles David TAYLOR. There is no doubt that Frederick Charles and David Charles are the same person. His address is the same as for Jane (BEER) on some of the letters. Also confusing, are some letters referring to Will TAYLOR both under the number 1000 and 242. There was another Will TAYLOR (242) in the AIF but he was older and returned to Australia early in the war. Here is Will Taylor's Army file, available from the National Archives of Australia website (citation NAA: B2455 TAYLOR WG). Click on an image to see a larger version of the page.
Killed in ActionWill TAYLOR was killed in action on 13 April 1918 at Amiens, France. A Court of Inquiry was held into his death on 23 May 1918 at which several soldiers gave evidence.
Following his death, his personal effects were packaged up and shipped to Australia for forwarding to his father, but a Will was found and eight months later the package was sent on to England for delivery to his beneficiary, Miss May McBride. In the meantime, Will's Identity Disc, which a witness to the Court had removed from his body, was sent on to Miss McBride. She acknowledged receipt of the disc on 20 July 1918, and the receipt of his belongings on 11 August 1919.
In early 1920 Will's father received a photograph of Will's grave in St Pierre Cemetery. In 1921 he received a Memorial Scroll, in 1922 a Memorial Plaque and in 1923 the Victory Medal, all of which were acknowledged by post.
Return to the Benton Family Index Page Last updated: 31 December 2011 |
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