William FREEMAN
Service
number: 2809. Age:
25 years. Enlisted: 15 Sep 1916.
Occupation: Fisherman. Next of kin: (mother) Mrs Janet Freeman.
Address
on enlistment:
Toorbul.
Improvised
sign on three pieces of wood indicating
the Orderly Room of 3 Machine Gun Company in France and Belgium. [1]
William
Freeman in uniform. [2]
Service
Summary:
15 Sep 1916: 6 reinforcement 41 Battalion.
23 Dec 1916: Embarked from Sydney on HMAT A64
Demosthenes.
16 Aug 1917: 3 Machine Gun Battalion.
6 Sep 1918: Wounded in action France.
5 Apr 1919: Returned to Australia from
Devonport on Armagh.
29 Jun 1919: Discharged.
Life
Summary:
William Freeman was the eldest son of Edward
Henry Freeman Snr (1863-1940) and Janet McAllister McGill (1864-1935) and was
born 16 Oct 1890 at Toorbul. His younger brother Edward Freeman [2987] also enlisted. William Freeman’s occupation was fisherman and the extended Freeman family lived at
Toorbul.
William Freeman married Jessie Buckby in 1920
and the couple with their growing family settled on Bribie Island where William
Freeman worked as caretaker for the
Brisbane Tug and Steamship Company and his wife was postmistress. William
Freeman’s children went to the Bribie State School (established 1924) with
Kit Freeman starting grade 1 in 1925, William Freeman Jnr in 1928, Ailsa Freeman in
1930 and Edward Freeman in 1940.
William Freeman also served in the Second
World War – see that entry in next section for later information about WilliamFreeman.
1923.
Group of people at Bongaree Jetty. William Freeman standing on right. [3]
William
Freeman’s home on Bribie Island. [4]
[1]
Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial RELAWM 10662 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C144335
[2] Photo courtesy of Lynda Sach, Western
Australia.
[3] Photo VC8_090 Vera Campbell Album / Ted Clayton
collection.
[4] Photo courtesy of Lynda Sach, Western
Australia.
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