The AIF Project

William Clarence HIGSON

Regimental number294
Place of birthRockhampton, Queensland
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationClerk
AddressRoss Street, Rockhampton, Queensland
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation18
Height5' 8"
Weight140 lbs
Next of kinFather, William Edward Higson, Ross Street, Rockhampton, Queensland
Previous military serviceServed in the 1st Australian Light Horse
Enlistment date17 September 1914
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll23 September 1914
Place of enlistmentRockhampton, Queensland
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name15th Battalion, B Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/32/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board Transport A40 Ceramic on 22 December 1914
Rank from Nominal RollSergeant
Unit from Nominal Roll15th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 8 August 1915
Date of death8 August 1915
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 44), 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
76
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: William and Elizabeth HIGSON, Rockhampton, Queensland
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Found guilty, 30 November 1914, of being absent without leave from tattoo roll call, Broadmeadows Camp, 28 November 1914: admonished and fined 1 day's pay.

Embarked Melbourne, 22 December 1914.

Promoted lance corporal, 1 January 1915.

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 12 April 1915.

Promoted corporal, 10 May 1915.

Wounded in action (gun shot wound, arm), Gallipoli, 10 May 1915; admitted to No. 1 Stationary Hospital, Lemnos, 21 May 1915; discharged to duty, 28 May 1915.

Promoted sergeant, 29 May 1915.

Reported missing, Gallipoli, 8 August 1915.

Court of Inquiry held in the field, 6 April 1916, pronounced fate as 'killed in action, Gallipoli, 8 August 1915'.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, HIGSON William Clarence

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