#4328 - Pte. 12th Infantry Battalion AIF
"Postal worker Willie Hammond was an assistant letter carrier at Zeehan when he volunteered for war service in 1915, aged 19. He was born at New Norfolk in 1896, where his father was a hospital attendant. With this background it was not surprising that Willie would spend part of his military service as a stretcher-bearer. Part of a family of Roman Catholics, he attended Catholic schools including St Virgil's College and sang in the choir at St Joseph's Church in Hobart.
He was a fine athlete and had been in the army cadets for 18 months but was initially rejected for active service because of poor eyesight. When he was accepted into the 12th Battalion's 13th Reinforcements in August 1915, he provided a letter of consent from his father and a statement from the deputy-postmaster general at Hobart saying he had been granted leave of absence to join up. He spent nearly two months in Egypt on the way to Europe and joined his battalion in France in June 1916. Like many soldiers in the trenches he suffered from scabies and was hospitalised twice for treatment. He survived the Battle of the Somme and in August 1916 he was recommended to be Mentioned in Despatches for great gallantry and devotion to duty as stretcher-bearer at Pozieres.
Nine months later he was writing letters home before entering the field during the second battle of Bullecourt. Writing to an aunt around dawn on May 6, 1917, he said he and his comrades could see thousands of Germans coming on, but they were not afraid. During the ensuing engagement Willie was injured in the neck and died of his wounds with the 6th Australian Field Ambulance later that day, aged 20. He was buried at the Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery at Vaulx, France (now called the Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery).
Private William Albert Hammond is remembered at tree 252 on the Soldiers' Memorial Avenue as well as on honour boards at the Hobart Town Hall, Hobart GPO, and the Tasmanian Football League." - Damian Bester, Hobart Mercury, 04 Oct 2018
"Postal worker Willie Hammond was an assistant letter carrier at Zeehan when he volunteered for war service in 1915, aged 19. He was born at New Norfolk in 1896, where his father was a hospital attendant. With this background it was not surprising that Willie would spend part of his military service as a stretcher-bearer. Part of a family of Roman Catholics, he attended Catholic schools including St Virgil's College and sang in the choir at St Joseph's Church in Hobart.
He was a fine athlete and had been in the army cadets for 18 months but was initially rejected for active service because of poor eyesight. When he was accepted into the 12th Battalion's 13th Reinforcements in August 1915, he provided a letter of consent from his father and a statement from the deputy-postmaster general at Hobart saying he had been granted leave of absence to join up. He spent nearly two months in Egypt on the way to Europe and joined his battalion in France in June 1916. Like many soldiers in the trenches he suffered from scabies and was hospitalised twice for treatment. He survived the Battle of the Somme and in August 1916 he was recommended to be Mentioned in Despatches for great gallantry and devotion to duty as stretcher-bearer at Pozieres.
Nine months later he was writing letters home before entering the field during the second battle of Bullecourt. Writing to an aunt around dawn on May 6, 1917, he said he and his comrades could see thousands of Germans coming on, but they were not afraid. During the ensuing engagement Willie was injured in the neck and died of his wounds with the 6th Australian Field Ambulance later that day, aged 20. He was buried at the Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery at Vaulx, France (now called the Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery).
Private William Albert Hammond is remembered at tree 252 on the Soldiers' Memorial Avenue as well as on honour boards at the Hobart Town Hall, Hobart GPO, and the Tasmanian Football League." - Damian Bester, Hobart Mercury, 04 Oct 2018
#4328 - Pte. 12th Infantry Battalion AIF
"Postal worker Willie Hammond was an assistant letter carrier at Zeehan when he volunteered for war service in 1915, aged 19. He was born at New Norfolk in 1896, where his father was a hospital attendant. With this background it was not surprising that Willie would spend part of his military service as a stretcher-bearer. Part of a family of Roman Catholics, he attended Catholic schools including St Virgil's College and sang in the choir at St Joseph's Church in Hobart.
He was a fine athlete and had been in the army cadets for 18 months but was initially rejected for active service because of poor eyesight. When he was accepted into the 12th Battalion's 13th Reinforcements in August 1915, he provided a letter of consent from his father and a statement from the deputy-postmaster general at Hobart saying he had been granted leave of absence to join up. He spent nearly two months in Egypt on the way to Europe and joined his battalion in France in June 1916. Like many soldiers in the trenches he suffered from scabies and was hospitalised twice for treatment. He survived the Battle of the Somme and in August 1916 he was recommended to be Mentioned in Despatches for great gallantry and devotion to duty as stretcher-bearer at Pozieres.
Nine months later he was writing letters home before entering the field during the second battle of Bullecourt. Writing to an aunt around dawn on May 6, 1917, he said he and his comrades could see thousands of Germans coming on, but they were not afraid. During the ensuing engagement Willie was injured in the neck and died of his wounds with the 6th Australian Field Ambulance later that day, aged 20. He was buried at the Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery at Vaulx, France (now called the Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery).
Private William Albert Hammond is remembered at tree 252 on the Soldiers' Memorial Avenue as well as on honour boards at the Hobart Town Hall, Hobart GPO, and the Tasmanian Football League." - Damian Bester, Hobart Mercury, 04 Oct 2018
"Postal worker Willie Hammond was an assistant letter carrier at Zeehan when he volunteered for war service in 1915, aged 19. He was born at New Norfolk in 1896, where his father was a hospital attendant. With this background it was not surprising that Willie would spend part of his military service as a stretcher-bearer. Part of a family of Roman Catholics, he attended Catholic schools including St Virgil's College and sang in the choir at St Joseph's Church in Hobart.
He was a fine athlete and had been in the army cadets for 18 months but was initially rejected for active service because of poor eyesight. When he was accepted into the 12th Battalion's 13th Reinforcements in August 1915, he provided a letter of consent from his father and a statement from the deputy-postmaster general at Hobart saying he had been granted leave of absence to join up. He spent nearly two months in Egypt on the way to Europe and joined his battalion in France in June 1916. Like many soldiers in the trenches he suffered from scabies and was hospitalised twice for treatment. He survived the Battle of the Somme and in August 1916 he was recommended to be Mentioned in Despatches for great gallantry and devotion to duty as stretcher-bearer at Pozieres.
Nine months later he was writing letters home before entering the field during the second battle of Bullecourt. Writing to an aunt around dawn on May 6, 1917, he said he and his comrades could see thousands of Germans coming on, but they were not afraid. During the ensuing engagement Willie was injured in the neck and died of his wounds with the 6th Australian Field Ambulance later that day, aged 20. He was buried at the Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery at Vaulx, France (now called the Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery).
Private William Albert Hammond is remembered at tree 252 on the Soldiers' Memorial Avenue as well as on honour boards at the Hobart Town Hall, Hobart GPO, and the Tasmanian Football League." - Damian Bester, Hobart Mercury, 04 Oct 2018
Inscription
Australian Infantry, A.I.F.
Gravesite Details
4328
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