ENRIGHT, Bernard and William

At Moree on 14 January 1916, Bernard and William enlisted and joined the First Contingent of the Inverell Kurrajongs on their journey to the Narrabri camp. Bernard and William were two of five sons of Charles and Catherine Enright of Mungindi on the NSW Queensland border. 

Bernard, a twenty six year old labourer, was rejected at Narrabri when he was found to have a heart condition.  He married in 1920 but sadly died in 1923 and was buried at Mungindi.

Thirty five year old William was working as a stockman at Mungindi before he enlisted. He had been rejected for service in December 1915 however he passed his medical the following month. He became a member of the 33rd Battalion, A Company which after training at Armidale and Rutherford sailed for England in May 1916. 

After further training with the 3rd Division at Salisbury Plain, he was transferred to the 1st Battalion in September and sent to France on 1 October 1916. Just s few weeks later he was wounded in action and invalided to hospital in England with a gunshot wound to his right leg. Several months later he was attached to the 61st Battalion for duty in England until going back to France in October 1917.  The following year his old leg injury caused him to be hospitalised and again returned to England where the decision was made for him to return to Australia.  He was medically discharged in July 1918 and awarded a pension of thirty shillings ($3) per fortnight.

Private William Enright died in 1949 and was buried at Mungindi with other members of his family.

Bernard, William and their brother James, who enlisted in Queensland,  are all  listed as Indigenous Soldiers in the publication 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Volunteers for the AIF, The Indigenous Response to World War One' by Philippa Scarlett, third edition 2015.