Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Son of late James WADE & Winifred (Mrs HARNETT), of Fairlie. Brothers Hugh Joseph (Joe) & Edward James also served in WWI & were both fighting on the Western Front at the same time as Willie. One of a family with an exceptionally brilliant war record - William was awarded the Military Medal and D.C.M.; his brother Edward was awarded the Military Medal; another brother, Hugh Joseph (Joe) WADE, had a leg amputated. The extract from the London Gazette of 16th November 1917, which outlined the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, was sent to his mother on the 13th March 1918. And on 17 June 1918 the medal was forwarded, with the observations "a brave Australian soldier who nobly laid down his life in the services of our King and Country" and "whose magnificent conduct on the field of battle has helped to earn for our Australian soldiers a fame which will endure as long as memory lasts". Both Edward and William were in France when their brother Joseph had both legs smashed with shell. On his way to the Front, Willie's ship stopped in India. He was on board the HMT Southland travelling from Alexandria to Gallipoli  when it was torpedoed by a German submarine off the island of Lemnos on 2 September 1915. At Christmas 1915 he and other fellow Australian soldiers enjoyed "billies" of gifts sent from home - pipes, tobacco, cigarettes, tins of sardines, pakets of safety pins, some bachelor's buttons, some nuts. He was one of the last boatload to leave after the evacuation of Gallipoli. In March 1917 he was promoted to 2nd Corporal and in April to Corporal. William escaped wounds and illness until his supreme sacrifice. He was struck by a shrapnell bullet which pierced his steel helmet and penetrated his head. He was buried with all honours by a Catholic priest and a cross of oak from the destroyed Ypres Cathedral was erected over his grave. At the time of his death he was promoted to Temporary Sergeant. William's will of 27 July 1917 is incorporated into his Attestation Papers. He bequeaths all his property and effects to his mother (Mrs Winifred HARNETT). Messrs. Raymond, Raymond & Campbell, Solicitors, Stafford Street, Timaru, New Zealand, handled his estate. William's brother-in-law, Leonard Peter Robinson, wrote on behalf of William's mother asking about clasps and bars for the different engagements in which T/Sgt. W. Wade took part. In July 1918 L. P. Robinson received one package containing one medal. In 1919 a package of William's personal effects was sent, the contents being 1 suit pyjamas, 1 bathing costume, 1 shirt, 1 hairbrush, 1 jersey, 1 muffler, 1 sounder, 1 pr socks, 1 comb, 1 housewife. In 1920 (her previous reply having not been delivered) Winifred Harnett (William's mother) communicated to the Base Records Office in Melbourne, that she was his nearest living relative, his father had died at Timaru 15 years ago, and Sergt Wade had been her help and part of her support. The 1914/1915 Star was forwarded on 19 January 1921 and the British War Medal on 13 September 1921. A photograph is attached to a record of William in Mapping our Anzacs scrapbook (ancestry.com.au). See also William's letter to his sister - graphic description of their journey from Sydney in 1915 [T.H. 19 Aug 1915]; William's letter to his sister on Christmas 1915 [T.H. 16 March 1916]; Warrant Officer J. O'Brien's tribute to William [T.H. 4 Feb 1918] (copies included).

Sources

CWGC [26 August 2013]; Australian Military Forces - Australian Imperial Force records [26 August 2013]; Timaru Herald, 19 August 1915, 16 March 1916, 8 September 1917, 21 November 1917, 10 December 1917, 4 February 1918, 16 February 1918 (Papers Past) [02 November 2013]; Mapping our Anzacs scrapbook (trees.ancestry.com.au) [26 August 2013; 02 & 06 November 2013]

External Links

Related Documents

• William WADE biography by Doreen Knight (pdf, 309.3 KB updated 01-Mar-2019)

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