36th - 33rd BATTALION AIF
Lieutenant: 746 William Thomas EWING. M.C.
Born: 23rd February 1893. Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia. Birth Cert: 14169/1893.
Married: 1920. Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia. Marriage Cert: 1916/1920.
Wife: Mary J A Ewing. nee: Hutton.
Died: 1st May 1973. Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia. Death Cert: 52569/1973.
Father: William Blackstocks Ewing.
Mother: Ann Ewing. nee: Gould.
Married: 1891. Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia. Marriage Cert: 3988/1891.
(BEAN; History of World War 1 Vol V page 344)
28/08/1917.
London Gazette Supplement: 25th August 1918. No: 302515.
Wounded in Action 4th April 1918.
Glen Innes MemorialNo.746 William Thomas EWING was a 22 years and 11 month old Farmer from Glen Innes in NSW when he enlisted in the AIF on the 31st of January 1916.
On the 21st of February he was allocated to the newly raised 36th Battalion AIF. Note - the 36th Battalion was raised at Broadmeadow Camp, in Newcastle, New South Wales in February of 1916. The bulk of the Battalion's recruits had been enlisted as a result of a recruiting drive conducted amongst the rifle clubs of New South Wales by the Minister for Public Information in the New South Wales government, Ambrose Carmichael. Thus, the battalion became known as "Carmichael's thousand" and also “the Rifle clubs thousand”.
He embarked as a Sergeant in “C” Company of the 36th BATTALION AIF aboard the HMAT (A72) “Beltana” which sailed from Sydney on the 13th of May 1916. Its route was via Capetown and Dakar, arriving at Devonport in England on the 9th of July. Upon arrival in England the Battalion travelled by train, via Exeter, to the village of Amesbury in Wiltshire, where they unloaded and then marched the several miles to the AIF Camps at Larkhill. On arrival the 36th Battalion was allocated to the No.4 Camp and the men were then given four days Disembarkation-Leave prior to commencing their training in England.
The Battalion now became part of the 9th Infantry Brigade (33rd, 34th, 35th, and 36th Infantry Battalions, 9th Machine-Gun Company, and the 9th Light Trench Mortar Battery),of the newly raised 3rd Australian Division (9th, 10th, and 11th Infantry Brigades). It would spend the next 4 months training hard on Salisbury Plain to learn all the methods of fighting Trench-Warfare.
The 9th Brigade trained and practiced in Musketry, bayonet fighting, the digging of trenches, received their weapons, equipment and field-kitchens, attended various specialist courses, practiced route-marching, improving their fitness, practised trench raids and attacks while coordinating with aircraft and Artillery, culminating in a week in October spent in trenches under active service conditions. They voted in the ‘Conscription Referendum’, were reviewed by His Majesty the King on Salisbury Plain, and then completed a final Divisional Route-March of 18 miles. Selected personnel had attended various Promotion and Officer Training Courses, in preparation for the Casualties and losses that were inevitable.
On the 22nd of November 1916 the 36th Battalion proceeded from England to France, as part of the 9th Brigades deployment onto the Western-Front. On arrival the Brigade marched to the Sanvic Rest Camp (located at Bléville, several miles NNW of Le Havre). On the 23rd/24th the Brigade moved by train from Le Havre to Bailleul, in cattle-trucks that were marked “Hommes (people) 40, Chevaux (horses) 8”. On the 26th the 36th Battalion marched from Bailleul to billets in the village of Merris. On the 29th the 36th Battalion moved from Merris to the ‘D’ Battalion area at the village of Armentieres. At 5 p.m. on the 29th of November 1916 the G.O.C. of the 9th Infantry Brigade assumed control of the Armentieres Sector.
On the 21st of March 1917 he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2 and into the position of Company Sergeant Major.
On the 6th of April 1917 he was commissioned a 2nd-Lieutenant in the AIF. He was with the Battalion for the attack on ‘MESSINES’ on the 7th of June 1917.
On the 10th of June the 36th Battalion was given orders to capture the 'La Potterie' System of Trenches. It was decided by the C.O. 36th Battalion that the task could be accomplished with 5 Officers and 200 men. At Zero hour (i.e.11 p.m. the assaulting force left the trenches and was then subjected to an enemy Artillery barrage that disorganised the attack. Due to the Leadership of Lieutenant EWING and the other Officers the attacking force was successfully reorganised and successfully achieved its Objective.. For his Leadership and his actions, he was nominated for a Bravery Award.
Extract from a Report on the Operations carried out by the 36th Battalion: 2nd - 13th June 1917.
The extract explains the action on 10th of June 1917 (attack & capture of the 'La Potterie' system of trenches) for which Lieutenant EWING was awarded the M.C.
On the 18th of July he reported sick and was admitted to hospital with ‘Otitis Media’. He rejoined the Battalion from hospital on the 7th of August.
On the 25th of August 1917 the ‘London Gazette’ reported the award of the MILITARY CROSS. The Citation for the M.C. read: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. At a critical moment, when a heavy enemy barrage had disorganized his platoon, which was forming up for the assault, he rallied his men and reformed them, by his coolness and gallant conduct turning a precarious situation into a completely successful enterprise.”
Glen Innes Examiner (NSW 1908 - 1954) Thu 8 Nov 1917
Glen Innes Examiner (NSW 1908 - 1954) Mon 13 May 1918
On the 30th of August he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and the following day was seconded for duty with the 9th Training-Battalion in England. He marched in to the Training-Battalion on the 3rd of September. In January 1918 he was on a ‘Bombing Course’ at Lyndhurst.
On the 1st of March 1918 he deployed across to France and marched into the Australian Infantry Base Depot at Rouelles. He rejoined the 36th Battalion on the 10th.
In late March of 1918 the 9th Infantry Brigade was rushed south to ‘the Somme’, in response to a huge new German Offensive (known by the Germans as Operation Michael), and the Brigade was used as a mobile formation, being thrown into the line wherever strengthening was needed. The 9th Brigade finally ended up at the village of Villers-Bretonneux.
William Thomas EWING was with the 36th Battalion for the “1ST BATTLE OF VILLERS-BRETONNEUX” on the 4th of April 1918, when the 9th Australian Brigade, and a few tired elements of the British 5th Army, were instrumental in stopping the German advance towards the key City of Amiens. The 36th Battalion had carried out a heroic ‘Forlorn Hope’ Counter-Attack in order to stop the Germans, and the Brigade then held the Germans despite counter-attacks.
At some point during this Battle on the 4th of April he was WOUNDED-IN-ACTION, receiving a wound in the neck. He was admitted to the 43rd Field Ambulance and transferred to the 5th Casualty Clearing Station. He was then transported by Ambulance-Train to a hospital on the coast. On the 6th of April he was invalided across to England where he was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth.
Note - Due to the combination of recent heavy losses of men in the Brigade and the lack of sufficient Reinforcements arriving from Australia, the decision was taken to reduce the 9th Infantry Brigade to three Infantry Battalions. Since the 36th Battalion had lost most of its Senior Officers, the decision was made to sacrifice “Carmichael’s Thousand”. On the 30th of May 1918 the 36th Battalion was officially disbanded and its men used to reinforce the other three Battalions within the 9th Brigade. William Thomas EWING was taken-on-strength by the 33rd BATTALION AIF.
On the 2nd of May 1918 he was released from hospital and marched in to the Overseas Training Brigade. On the 13th of May he proceeded back across to France, marching in to the Australian Intermediate Base Depot at Rouelles. On the 18th of May he marched out to the front and joined the 33rd Battalion on the 20th of May.
On the 8th of June 1918 he attended the 4th Army Musketry School, rejoining the Battalion on the 1st of July.
He was with the 33rd Battalion for the ‘AUGUST OFFENSIVE’, the ‘ADDVANCE TO BOUCHAVESNES’, and the final ‘ADVANCE TO THE HINDENBURG LINE’. On the 2nd of October the Australian Infantry was withdrawn from frontline duties, by Order of the Australian Prime-Minister.
On the 5th of September he was seconded for duty with the Australian Corp School. He remained at the Corp School for the Armistice, some UK Leave (15th – 31st December 1918), until he resumed Regimental Duty on the 21st of January 1919. He had been performing the role of Adjutant for Australian Soldiers in France.
In May of 1919 he returned to Australia, arriving on the 23rd of July. On the 7th of December 1919, his appointment as an Officer in the AIF was terminated.
Note- William Thomas EWING went on to join the Police Force - eventually became an Inspector and the foremost expert in finger-printing in Australia.
Photograph of William Thomas EWING that was printed in the Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954) Sun 23 Jun 1935, during the famous "Shark Arm Case".
William Thomas EWING passed away on the 1st of May 1973 at Kogarah in NSW.
Woronora Memorial Garden
(Bill Durant; May 2020)
Under Construction; 02/11/2006-01/06/2025.
