The AIF Project

William Henry STRAHAN

Regimental number199
Place of birthToodyay Western Australia
SchoolToodyay State School, Western Australia
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationOrchardist
Marital statusMarried
Age at embarkation45
Next of kinWife, Mrs R E Strahan, Strathavon, Toodyay, Western Australia
Previous military serviceServed in the old volunteer force for 15 years, retiring as Sergeant Major.
Enlistment date18 September 1914
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll8 September 1914
Rank on enlistmentSergeant
Unit name16th Battalion, A Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/33/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic on 22 December 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll16th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 25 April 1915
Age at death46
Age at death from cemetery records46
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 51), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
81
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: James and Sussannah STRAHAN; husband of R.E. STRAHAN, Toodyay, Western Australia
Family/military connectionsSon: 2895 Pte Herbert Elwell STRAHAN, Machine Gun Corps Details, returned to Australia, 28 February 1919; Nephews: 8818 Pte William James MARKEY, 4th Field Ambulance, returned to Australia, 1 June 1919; 440 Pte Lionel Christopher MARKEY, 10th Light Horse Regiment, returned to Australia, 3 September 1919; 441 Pte Thomas John MARKEY, 10th Light Horse Regiment, returned to Australia, 3 September 1919; 8817 Pte Francis Christopher MARKEY, 13th Field Ambulance, returned to Australia, 1 June 1919; 4266 Pte Walter Clarence THORPE, 28th Bn, died of wounds, 9 April 1917; 4608 Corporal Albert Laurence THORPE, 1st Australian Light Railway Operating Company, returned to Australia, 11 May 1919; 4611 Pte Phillip THORPE, 4th Division Salvage Company, returned to Australia, 1 May 1919.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

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