William Wallace
Bairnsdale Rowing Club (VIC)
SGT W. Wallace 862
Killed in Action Palestine 4 May 1917 Aged 23 years
William Wallace who had come to Australia from Stirlingshire, Scotland was working at the National Bank, Bairnsdale when he enlisted in September 1914. He was attached to the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance and managed to survive the campaign at Gallipoli. He "took part in the operations against the Turks in the desert fighting." From here he was engaged in various campaigns including Abu Shinnar, Abasan-al-Kabir and Belah. It appears that he was killed when the hospital that he was working at with the Medical Corps was bombed and he is buried at the Deir El Belah War cemetery in Israel. His parents never spoke of his death and in the 1960s his younger brother, George, wrote to the Central Army Records Department seeking information of his service and ultimately claiming his medals in remembrance of the brother he hadn't known.
From the East Gippsland Family History Group Inc 2015