Sgt
William Archibald Cherry
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1893 |
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Place of birth: Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia |
General information
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Profession: Day laborer |
Army information
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Country: Australia |
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Force: Australian Imperial Force |
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Rank: Sergeant |
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Service number: 200 |
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Enlistment date: 22/08/1914 |
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Enlistment place: Brighton, Tasmania, Australia |
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Units: — Australian Infantry, 12th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 07/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Remus Wood, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 24 |
Cemetery
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Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: XXVI Row: D Grave: 1 |
Distinctions and medals 3
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1914-15 Star Medal |
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Sergeant William Archibold Cherry of 12th Battalion Australian Infantry Force (A.I.F.), 3rd Brigade, part of the 1st Australian Division fought in the Third battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele.
A farm labourer from Springfield, Dorset, Tasmania, Cherry enlisted as a Private on 22 August 1914, aged 21. His Unit embarked from Tasmania for Alexandria on 20 October 1914 and after a term in Egypt they embarked again to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli on the 2nd of March 1915. On 3 September 1915 Cherry was Wounded in Action, receiving a severe gun-shot wound to the leg. He was first taken to No. 1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station and then transferred on the same day to the Hospital Ship 'Salter', and transported back to Alexandria for treatment at the Government Hospital, Ras el Tin, from 16 October till 11 December 1915. After several months of convalescence and then 46 days in hospital being treated for an infection on 29th July 1916 Cherry Embarks for England. He proceeded overseas to France on 5 September 1916 and joined 12th Bn. A.I.F. in the field the following March. He was promoted to Corporal on 10 April and then to Sergeant on the 1st of June 1917. Cherry had been Detached to an Anzac Corps School Infantry course on 25 August 1917 and had rejoined his unit in Belgium on 5 October 1917.
On the same day as Cherry rejoined them 12th Bn. A.I.F. moved into the Front Line at Broodseinde Ridge. During the night of 6-7th October parties of the 12th and 11th Battalions conducted a raid on Celtic Wood. Sergeant Cherry is mentioned in Appendix 10/17/11 of the 3rd Australian Brigade’s diary as having lead “B” Company. The raid was very successful and only 2 Other Ranks were Wounded, one man from the 11th and one from the 12th Bn. The 3rd Brigade diary goes on to show heavy enemy shelling occurred in the morning of 7 October and then later a heavy Barrage came down at 4.30 p.m. along and behind the Allied Front Line with artillery fire from both sides continuing until 6.30 p.m.
Sergeant William Archibold Cherry was Killed in Action on 7 October 1917, Aged 24. It is most likely that he was killed as a result of artillery fire whilst holding the line. He was originally buried East of Remus Wood, just before the road (Beselarestraat) and is now officially buried at Buttes New British Cemetery; Plot XXVI, Row D, Grave 1. He is also commemorated on Panel 65 on the Roll of Honour at The Australian War Memorial.
A farm labourer from Springfield, Dorset, Tasmania, Cherry enlisted as a Private on 22 August 1914, aged 21. His Unit embarked from Tasmania for Alexandria on 20 October 1914 and after a term in Egypt they embarked again to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli on the 2nd of March 1915. On 3 September 1915 Cherry was Wounded in Action, receiving a severe gun-shot wound to the leg. He was first taken to No. 1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station and then transferred on the same day to the Hospital Ship 'Salter', and transported back to Alexandria for treatment at the Government Hospital, Ras el Tin, from 16 October till 11 December 1915. After several months of convalescence and then 46 days in hospital being treated for an infection on 29th July 1916 Cherry Embarks for England. He proceeded overseas to France on 5 September 1916 and joined 12th Bn. A.I.F. in the field the following March. He was promoted to Corporal on 10 April and then to Sergeant on the 1st of June 1917. Cherry had been Detached to an Anzac Corps School Infantry course on 25 August 1917 and had rejoined his unit in Belgium on 5 October 1917.
On the same day as Cherry rejoined them 12th Bn. A.I.F. moved into the Front Line at Broodseinde Ridge. During the night of 6-7th October parties of the 12th and 11th Battalions conducted a raid on Celtic Wood. Sergeant Cherry is mentioned in Appendix 10/17/11 of the 3rd Australian Brigade’s diary as having lead “B” Company. The raid was very successful and only 2 Other Ranks were Wounded, one man from the 11th and one from the 12th Bn. The 3rd Brigade diary goes on to show heavy enemy shelling occurred in the morning of 7 October and then later a heavy Barrage came down at 4.30 p.m. along and behind the Allied Front Line with artillery fire from both sides continuing until 6.30 p.m.
Sergeant William Archibold Cherry was Killed in Action on 7 October 1917, Aged 24. It is most likely that he was killed as a result of artillery fire whilst holding the line. He was originally buried East of Remus Wood, just before the road (Beselarestraat) and is now officially buried at Buttes New British Cemetery; Plot XXVI, Row D, Grave 1. He is also commemorated on Panel 65 on the Roll of Honour at The Australian War Memorial.
Sources 5
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12th Australian Infantry Battalion, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/29/32). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583 Sources used |
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Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10276803 Sources used |
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First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, CHERRY W A). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx. Sources used |
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McCarthy C., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Uniform, 2018), pg. 117. Sources used |
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Newton L.M., The Story of the Twelfth: A Record of the 12th Battalion, A.I.F. during the Great War of 1914-1918, (Hobart, J. Walch & Sons Pty. Ltd. 1925), pg. 158-159. Sources used |
More information 4
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/480154 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=01dcb338-6e62-4f2c-93d0-208da311982a |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7388289 |
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The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=51571 |