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William Arthur Bates - Information

41 year old William Bates joined up on the 7th of July 1917 in Menangle. At the time, he was working as a railway granger and living on Railway Crescent in Picton, with his wife, Alice. He trained as a Trooper at Menangle Park, delegated to the 6th Light Horse Regiment. He was then shipped out from Sydney on the 16th of November 1917 on the SS Canberra.

William disembarked in Suez in late December, and was marched out to Moascar Camp. On the 3rd of January 1918, he was detached and then transferred to the Army Medical Corps. On the same day, he was taken to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital for instruction. The following month, he continued his training at the 14th General Hospital in Port Said. He helped care for the many sick and wounded troops coming in from the desert. In early October, William was transferred back to the 6th Light Horse Regiment. Luckily, Turkey surrendered on the 30th of October. William remained with his unit, until he was sent back to Australia, boarding the Port Sydney in Kantara on the 4th of March 1919.