Deadman, PTE William David

William David Deadman (1888-?), boilermaker and soldier, was born in Harrid, England. At some point in his life, he moved to Western Australia. Both his parents died when he was a young man, so he became close with his sister Rose, who lived in Palmyra. At the time of his enlistment, William was working as a boilermaker’s assistant.

William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on the 2nd of February 1916 at the age of 28 and was posted to D Company, 44th Battalion. He embarked for overseas service in June 1916 and arrived at the Western Front in November 1916. It was at this time that he was transferred to the 51st Battalion, another West Australian unit.

Private Deadman fought for 11 months until he was shot in the arm during the Battle of Passchendaele. He was withdrawn to England and after four months in hospital, it was decided that he should be medically discharged to Australia. Thus, ending our knowledge of his story.

During the war, Private Deadman fought in 6 battles and spent at least 310 days in the trenches. He was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal, Silver War Badge, Wound Stripe, Active Service Badge, 1 Good Conduct Stripe and 1 Long Service Stripe.

*Not much is known about his life.