NAME:  William Arthur HIND                                                                                              

SERVICE NO:  213

YEAR OF BIRTH: 1894

PLACE OF BIRTH:  Mooroopna

DATE OF ENLISTMENT: 11 September 1914

PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:  Hamilton

AGE AT ENLISTMENT:  20

UNIT: 8th Light Horse, B Squadron

EMBARKED:  25 February 1915

TROOP SHIP:  HMAT A16 Star Of Victoria

FATE:  Killed in Action – 7 August 1915 – Gallipoli, Turkey.   

William Arthur Hind was born in Mooroopna in 1894 to William Stow Hind and Rose Anna Bailey. The family moved to Hamilton and William senior, a printer, took a job at the Hamilton Spectator. After William junior completed his schooling at the Hamilton Elementary School, he worked in the postal service and spent time in Heyfield, however at the time of his enlistment, he was an apprentice monoline operator at the Spectator. The family lived on Mill Road.

William enlisted on 11 September 1914 and joined other Hamilton men, John Broughton, Keith Learmonth and Edward “Ted” Henty in the 8th Light Horse Regiment, B Squadron. After training at Broadmeadows, William embarked on 25 February 1915 for Egypt. By May, the 8th Light Horse, as part of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade, was on their way to Gallipoli.

On 7 August, the 8th Battalion, B Squadron was heavily involved in the ‘Charge at The Nek’. At 4.30am, the 3rd Light Horse Brigade attacked the enemy trenches. In the minutes before, allied ships shelled the Turkish trenches with little effect. That shelling was to finish at 4.30am, signalling the ground troops to charge at the trenches. However, the offshore attack concluded earlier than expected and there was over five minutes for the Turks to gather their troops in preparation for what was to come.

The 8th Light Horse was sent over the trenches in two waves and the outcome was tragic. William Hind was among those men. He was last seen holding a flag aloft on the parapet of a Turkish trench where he was shot. He fell with the flag in his hand.

William’s body was never found in No Man’s Land. Heavy fighting continued in the vicinity, making it difficult for the recovery of bodies. Instead, William was honoured at the Lone Pine Memorial at Gallipoli.

At home in Hamilton and Heyfield, William’s death was met with great sadness. Honours in Hamilton included remembrance on the Hamilton Elementary School Honour Roll, the Hamilton War Memorial and Hamilton’s Anzac Avenue.

ONLINE SOURCES

Australian War Memorial – 8th Light Horse Regiment, B Squadron

Australian War Memorial – Charge at The Nek

Australian War Memorial – Embarkation Roll – William Arthur Hind   

Australian War Memorial – Roll of Honour – William Arthur Hind

Commonwealth War Graves Commission – Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey – William Arthur Hind

Discovering Anzacs – WW1 Service Records – William Arthur Hind

Newspaper Articles from Trove Australia – William Arthur Hind   

OTHER REFERENCES

Hamilton, John Goodbye cobber God bless you : the fatal charge of the Light Horse, Gallipoli. Pan MacMillan, Sydney, 2004.