Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

William Scott, born at Dunedin, New Zealand, enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force on 24 November 1915 at Melbourne, Victoria. He was 40 years 9 months old (although he stated 38 years 9 months), a tailor, single, and of Church of England affiliation. His nominated next-of-kin was his sister, Mrs Sarah Dunne, Roslyn Street, Timaru New Zealand – that is Mrs Sarah Jane Dunn, of Roslyn Terrace, Timaru. Both his parents were deceased.

William Thomas Scott, known as Willie at school, was born on 1 February 1875 at Dunedin, the son of John and Elvina (née Wooller) Scott, although both his New Zeaand birth and his Australian death were registered as the child of John Scott and Eliza (Wooler). John Scott and Elvina Wooller had married on 3 March 1866 at St Nicholas Church, Brighton, Sussex, England. On 23 May 1874, John and Elvina, with three little children (Sarah Jane, 7 years, John, 4 years, and Ruth Elvina, 2 years) left from London by the “Corona” for New Zealand, arriving on 28 August and settling in Otago.The death of two year old Ruth Elvina Scott was registered in New Zealand, as occurring on 1 December 1874 at Dunedin, but no burial has been identified. John and Elvina were tailor and tailoress respectively in 1871, and John continued his craft in New Zealand. Six more children were born in New Zealand – William Thomas, Helen (Ellen) Maria, Emma, Mary Jane, Walter, and lastly James Henry, the first four born at Dunedin, while both Walter and James were born at Timaru after the family moved there about 1882. John, William, Ellen, Emma and Mary all attended school in Timaru. William was admitted to Timaru Main School from a Dunedin School at the beginning of the 1882 school year. He spent nearly two years at Timaru South School before returning to the Public School (Timaru Main) in February 1888. Sarah Jane Scott, who married Richard Edward Dunn in 1885, remained in Timaru, when the family left for Melbourne, it appears about 1888/1889. Sarah’s son, William James Dunn (6/2604) also served in World War I, as did a son-in-law, Andrew Clark (6/2976). The New Zealand Herald of 21 July 1887 carried an enquiry for the family – “John and Elvina Scott left Brighton in 1875 for New Zealand, and were last heard of in 1880, they then being in Linden [Dunedin?], Otago. John is a tailor. Their mother writes." The second youngest son, Walter, died in February 1894 at Richmond, Victoria, aged 10 years.

William’s father, John Scott, died in May 1908 at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne – “beloved husband of Elvina Scott, . . . . . and beloved father of William, James, John, Mrs Cowly, Mrs Broadbent [Emma], Mrs Coffin [Mary Jane], Mrs Dunn, New Zealand [Sarah Jane]”, aged 64 years. And his mother, Mrs Elvina Scott, died on 1 April 1911 at her Chestnut Street residence – “dearly beloved wife of the late John Scott, Beloved mother of William, James, John, Mrs Dunn, New Zealand, Mrs Coffin, Mrs Broadbent and Mrs Cowly. New Zealand. New Zealand papers please copy. Loved by all who knew her.” In 1903 William Thomas Scott was living at home with his parents John and Elvina, and in 1909 in Chestnut Street, Richmond, with his widowed mother. In 1912 and again in 1915, both William Thomas Scott, a tailor, and his brother James Henry Scott, a baker, were residing at 101 Chestnut Street.

William Scott attested on 24 November 1915 at Melbourne, naming his sister, Mrs Sarah Dunn, of Timaru, as next-of-kin. On 22 February 1916 he was appointed to the 4th Reinforcement, 29th Battalion. Private William Scott, 2392, embarked with the 29th Battalion of the 4th Reinforcement on 14 March 1916 per the “Anchises”. In August 1916, Mrs Dunn of Roslyn Terrace, Timaru, received a cable message that her brother, “Private W. J. Scott, an old Timaru boy who left with the Australian Forces,” was seriously ill. He had been wounded in action on 6 August and embarked on a hospital ship for England, where he was admitted to hospital, suffering from gunshot wounds to his left leg. William recovered sufficiently to rejoin his battalion in February 1917. He returned to Australia in February 1919, suffering from premature senility, surely caused by his war service. Discharged on 15 May 1919 at Melbourne as medically unfit, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. On 12 March 1917 Private William Scott had been allotted the letter “A” to his service number, owing to duplication of number, becoming 2392A.

William Thomas Scott died in May 1951, aged 76 years and was buried with his parents, John and Elvina Scott, in Boroondara General Cemetery, Kew, Victoria, Australia, on 8 May 1951. It is thought that his brother, James Henry Scott, also served with the Australian Forces, as James Henry Spencer. His New Zealand born nephew, William James Dunn, served with the New Zealand Forces in World War I. William Thomas Scott appears to have been a brother of James Henry Spencer – thought to have been born James Henry Scott, who served with the Australian Forces in World War I.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [13 November 2020];Extracts from AIF File (per ancestry.com.au) [13 November 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [19 April 2020; 13 November 2020]; Australian Death Indexes [13 November 2020]; Find A Grave [13 November 2020]; 1871 England census (ancestry.com.au) [19 April 2002]; Australia Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [19 April 2020; 13 November 2020]; The Age, Melbourne, May 1908, 3 April 1911 [19 April 2020]; School Admission records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [19 April 2020]; South Canterbury Times, 29 April 1886, 25 August 1916, New Zealand Herald, 21 July 1887 (Papers Past) [19 April 2020; 13 November 2020]; Boroondara General Cemetery (http://www.kewcemetery.com.au/search/ShowGrave.php?ServiceID=64045) [14 November 2020]; England Birth Indexes (Free BMD) [15 November 2020]; Archives NZ, Passenger Lists (per Family Search, following submission from Richard Gould, 26 October 2020) [15 November 2020]

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Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

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