EDWARDS, William

William was born in Perthshire, Scotland about 1885. He was working as a Labourer on a farm at Elsmore, east of Inverell, when he enlisted and joined the First Contingent of The Kurrajongs.  This large group of men left Inverell together on 12 January 1916. William became a member of the 33rd Battalion, A Company which trained at Armidale and Rutherford prior to leaving Australia in May 1916 on the transport ship HMAT A74 Marathon.

After arriving in England, William’s Battalion undertook further training with the 3rd Division at Salisbury Plain until sent to France in November. In June 1917 William was appointed Lance Corporal and the following February promoted to Corporal.  During heavy fighting in April 1918 he was gassed and invalided to hospital in England for treatment.  Prior to returning to Australia in 1920, William married Annie Mitchell in Glasgow, Scotland.

The name of Corporal William Edwards is inscribed on the Inverell Honor Roll.