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William Devitt - Information

As the war raged on, William was living in Perth and working as a labourer. He came from a Picton family, born and raised in The Oaks. When he was 33, he joined up in Perth on the 10th of October 1916. During training, he was made a Private with the 8th Reinforcements, 46th Battalion. He was then shipped out, departing Fremantle on the 29th of December 1916 on the HMAT Persic.

William set down in Devonport in early March 1917, taken to the 12th Training Battalion in Codford. In mid July, he left Southampton for France. The following month, he met the 46th Battalion in Havre. William and his unit then fought at Passchendaele during the Third Battle of Ypres. In January 1918, he was detached for duty with the 2nd Canadian Tunnelling Company. While working underground, they suffered a gas attack on the 8th of February. Five days later, William was invalided to England to Middlesex War Hospital. At the end of October, he was taken back to France. A few days later the war was over. In late March 1919, William was detached to a Graves Detail, excavating battlefields to provide many of his fallen comrades with a proper military burial. On the 25th of September 1919, he commenced his journey home.