Regimental number | 2856 |
Place of birth | Woodend, Victoria |
School | State School, Victoria |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Occupation | Labourer |
Address | 69 Merton Street, Albert Park, Victoria |
Marital status | Single |
Age at embarkation | 28 |
Height | 5' 6.5" |
Weight | 155 lbs |
Next of kin | Father, William T Gravell, 69 Merton Street, Albert Park, Victoria |
Previous military service | Nil (member, Tramway City Rifle Club for 9 months) |
Enlistment date | |
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
Place of enlistment | Melbourne, Victoria |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 23rd Battalion, 6th Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/40/2 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A38 Ulysses on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 60th Battalion |
Fate | Killed accidentally |
Place of death or wounding | La Clayette, France |
Age at death | 29 |
Age at death from cemetery records | 29 |
Place of burial | Mussy-sous-Dun Communal Cemetery, France |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 170 |
Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Parents: William amd Emily GRAVELL, 27 Barrell Street, Albert Park, Victoria |
Other details |
War service: Egypt, Western Front Taken on strength, 58th Bn, Tel el Kebir, 23 February 1916. Admitted to No 2 Australian Stationary Hospital, 29 February 1916 (meningitis); discharged to duty, 12 March 1916. Transferred to 60th Bn, 15 March 1916. Admitted to 8th Field Ambulance, Ferry Post, 12 May 1916; transferred to 14th Field Ambulance, 13 May 1916 (influenza); to Australian Casualty Clearing Station, 14 May 1916; discharged to unit, 18 May 1916. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916. Accidentally killed, nr La Clayette Station, 30 June 1916. Court of Enquiry, 1 July 1916, found that (a) No 2856 Pte. W. Gravelle met his death by misadventure. He fell from the train near La Clayette Station while attempting to urinate through the open window of the carriage door. (b) That no blame whaever can be attached to any Officer, NCO or man of 60th Bn, as on account of the lack of sanitary conveniences on the train and the small number of haltes repas, men were compelled to urinate through the windows. For reasons that are unclear from the records, he was originally listed as 'No known grave', and his name inscribed on the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, even though details of the accident and the post-mortem were communicatd to the Australian authorities. People from Mussy-sous-Dun notified the CWGC in 2005 that his body had been recovered shorty after the accident and buried according to Catholic rites in the local cemetery. Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Miscellaneous details | Name incorrectly entered on Embarkation Roll as William Edward GRAVELL . |
Sources | NAA: B2455, GRAVELL William Edwin |