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William Farrell - Information

William joined up a month after his older brother, Arthur. William grew up in Wilton where he was born, before the family moved near Richmond Rivers. Here, he worked as a farmer with his brother, and served in the Light Horse in Lismore. William followed his brother to Brisbane, enlisting on the 15th of July 1915. William and Arthur were assigned to the 9th Battalion. They were then sent abroad, steaming out of Sydney Harbour on the HMAT Ayrshire on the 1st of September 1915.

William and Arthur arrived in Egypt in October, and after further instruction, met the 9th Battalion when they returned from Gallipoli. They were then transferred to the 49th Battalion, before being allotted to the 4th Field Bakery, Army Service Corps in late March. In June, they were transported to the Western Front. Field Bakeries were a welcomed site near the front, providing the troops in the trenches with a hot meal. At the time, this was particularly important, as the winter of 1916/17 was the worst of the war. Consequently in November, William and Arthur were admitted to hospital with influenza, and were evacuated to England. In 1917, William was granted a furlough. However, further illness classed him as unfit. He was then invalided back to Australia on the 1st of February 1918. He was medically discharged in late April.