48 / 128
William Wallace Croker (Regimental No 6804)
William Croker enlisted on 1 November 1916. William was one of two
Redhead brothers, Robert and William Croker, who enlisted, He was a
single man who listed his occupation as a Teamster, and his address as
Redhead, New South Wales. On the Embarkation Roll he listed his age as
25. He was given the rank of Private and attached to the 22
nd
Reinforcement to the 14
th
Battalion which embarked Sydney on 17
November 1916. The short period of time and training was an indication
of the desperate position in Europe. He arrived in France in April 1917.
He received a Military Medal for actions at Norcourt on 8 August 1918
(see Commonwealth of Australia Gazette Page 1495) for “conspicuous
actions”. The word “actions” infers a fairly desperate engagement.
William suffered from influenza and went AWL in August, 1917. At
some time all our soldiers seem to have gone AWL; but the majority seem
to have returned to their units. This behaviour may not been accepted in
the forces of other countries and certainly annoyed British commanders.
William was wounded to his left side in March 1918 and sustained a
gunshot wound to his forearm in September 1918. He returned to
Australia on 18th January 1919. His return early in 1919 may have been
due to the above injuries as his mother Annie wrote on his brother
Robert’s Roll of Honour Circular that William had returned “badly
wounded”. He had risen in rank from Private to Lance Corporal a fact
that indicates brave service and leadership qualities.
AWM Photo No DA16939
Darge Photographic Company.
A photograph of a young
enthusiastic
William Croker
prior
to his involvement in World War 1
and his return as a “badly
wounded” individual.
William’s second name “Wallace”
indicates his parent’s pride in
their Scottish heritage.
46