4145 Private
Rupert Pierce Morral Williams
4th Pioneer Battalion,
4th Division,
1st Australian Imperial Force 1914-1919
This file last updated 21 October, 2023 10:30
Introduction
Photograph - if available
The following information and chronological table are a summary of the entries from the World War One service record of Rupert Pierce Morral Williams, the elder brother of Robert Glen Williams who was Killed in Action in the Middle East.
As with many others, the details of his training and early movement are extremely sparse, with no detail of his initial arrival and disembarkation in the UK.
Prepared for Jack Lester by Clive Mitchell-Taylor, 19 Aug 2018. View Rupert Willams' Service record,, WW1 Nominal Roll entry, or Embarkation Roll.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Abbreviations or acronyms which have a dotted underline can be expanded by moving the cursor over the term - e.g. WIA. The cursor will be replaced by ? and the expanded abbreviation will be displayed. This is gradually being incorporated into the site, replacing the the current expansion of abbreviations. There may be a discernable delay of about a second before the expansion is first provided.
There is also a separate list of abbreviations which is available through the menu at the top of this page or the hyperlink here. Abbreviations are inconsistent, even within a single occurence where a term is abbreviated.
There are a number of sources for tracing abbreviations used in Australian and New Zealand service records. Those used when operating with the British or US forces can generally be found, especially in World War 1. Abbreviations used solely within Australia in WW2 are most difficult to trace, particularly when they are regional. Sometimes a 'best guess' is the only answer.
Duplicated Pages
Some of the service information may appear to be duplicated although individual occurrences are not in the same order and different abbreviations used. This occurs when the unit and Army records are amalgamated upon discharge or death in Service.
Service Numbers
Service numbers in WW1 were unique to the unit (e.g. Battalion) or Corps (e.g. Artillery). In WW2 Service Numbers were unique to the State in which they were allotted. For further information about identity numbers for Service personnel, see Regimental and Service Numbers
Dates of Occurrence and Reporting
The date of reporting an incident may be hours, days or months after the date on which incident actually occurred.
The original service record is amended only when the incident is reported which means that events are not necessarily recorded in in strict chronological sequence. This is the date shown on the left of the page of the original record, and also on the left in my transcription but readers should note that at times there may be no date of reporting at all, particularly when service personel are repatriated for discharge at the end of hostilities.
To assist the reader, when transcribing the military record I have done my best to record events in their chronological sequence. This is date is on the right of the page of the original record and also on the right in my transcription.
For clarity I have transcribed all dates into the format d MMM yyyy.
Enlistment Details
|
Service Number |
4145 |
|
Name |
Rupert Pierce Morral Williams |
|
Born at |
Gladstone, Queensland |
|
Age |
24 years 1 month as at 9 May 1917 [Actual DOB 2 Apr 1893] |
|
Trade or Calling |
Engine Driver |
|
Marital Status |
Married with one child |
|
Next of Kin |
Wife - Mrs Agnes Williams |
|
Previous Military Service |
No |
|
Attested at |
Rifle Range, Brisbane, Qld |
|
Date of Enlistment |
9 May 1917 |
|
Height |
5 foot 5 inches [165cm] |
|
Weight |
120 pounds [544.5Kg] |
|
Chest |
32½ - 37inches [82.5 - 94cm] |
|
Complexion |
Medium |
|
Eyes |
Brown |
|
Hair |
Brown |
|
Religious Denomination |
Methodist |
|
Distinguishing Marks |
None |
|
Units |
11th Reinforcements to 4th Pioneer Battalion |
Chronological Events
|
Rank |
Description |
Date |
Remarks |
|
Private |
Enlisted, allocated to 11th Reinforcements for 4th Pioneer Battalion (4 Pnr Bn). |
9 May 1917 |
|
|
Private |
Undergoing training, probably initially at Enoggera and subsequently at Liverpool in Sydney |
4 Mar 1917- |
|
|
Private |
Embarked from Sydney on Her Majesty's Army Transport (HMAT) "MEDIC. |
1 Aug 1917 |
|
|
Private |
Transferred to SS "ORISSA HALIFAX" (A7), at Halifax, Nova Scotia |
21 Sep 1917 |
|
|
Private |
Disembarked at Liverpool UK. |
3 Oct 1917 |
|
|
Private |
Marched in from Australia to Pioneer Training Battalion (Pnr Trg Bn) at Fovant |
3 Oct 1917 |
|
|
Private |
CRIME - Absent Without Leave from midnight 30 Apr 1918
to 2200 on 1 May 1918. |
1 May 1918 |
|
|
Private |
Admitted to Military Hospital, Sutton Vesey with Influenza |
23 Jun 1918 |
|
|
Private |
Discharged from Hospital and rejoins Training Depot |
1 Jul 1918 |
|
|
Private |
Marched out from Pioneer Training Battalion to No 2 Command Depot (Weymouth), Medical Class C1 |
31 Jul 1918 |
|
|
Private |
Marched out to Tidworth for Duty, Class C1 |
14 Oct 1918 |
|
|
Private |
Attached for Duty at Tidworth from 4th Pioneers at Weymouth |
14 Oct 1918 |
|
|
Private |
Marched in from Tidworth to No 1 Command Depot, Weymouth for return to Australia |
17 Dec 1918 |
|
|
Private |
Embarked on HMAT "EURIPIDES" (A14) for return to Australia |
3 Mar 1919 |
|
|
Private |
Disembarks 1st Military District (Queensland) |
1 May 1919 |
|
|
Private |
Discharged from Army |
24 May 1919 |
|
|
|
Repatriation Department Queensland requests documents as a claim has been lodged for repatriation benefits. The late Lance Corporal R.G. Williams, 5th Light Horse Regiment was buried in the Beersheba Military Cemetery, Palestine. |
12 May 1961 |
|
Medals and Dress Embellishments
British War Medal 1914-1920. No entitlement to 1914-15 Star or Victory Medal as enlisted after 1915 and did not serve in a War Zone.
Two Long Service Stripes and three Overseas Service Chevrons.
Use the hyperlinks or scroll down to see further information on the badges.
4th Pioneer Battalion
4TH PIONEER BATTALION
NOT ENTITLED TO WEAR ANZAC 'A'
Each Division was allocated a Pioneer Battalion. The 4th Pioneers were the Pioneer Battalion of the 4th Division as indicated by the circular colour patch.
The 4th Pioneers were raised as part of the re-organisation of the AIF that took place in Egypt after Gallipoli and prior to deployment to the Western Front. They were enagegd in every action undertaken by the 4th Division, starting at Pozieres and Mouquet Farm in mid 1916 through Bullecourt, Messines and Third Ypres in 1917, the stemming of the German tide in the Spring Offensive of 1918 most notably near Hebuterne and Dernancourt and culminating in the Hundred Days campaign in late 1918.
Pioneer Battalions were essentially light military combat engineers organised like the infantry and located at the very forward edge of the battle area. They were used to develop and enhance protection and mobility for supported troops and to deny it to the enemy. They constructed defensive positions, command posts and dugouts, prepared barbed wire defences and on occasion breached those of the enemy using devices like the Bangalore Torpedo.
Their skills and capability were broad; from building, construction and maintenance to road and track preparation and maintenance. They could also, and did quite often, fight as infantry.
Originally an innovation developed in the Indian Army before 1914, pioneer battalions were used on a large scale by Commonwealth forces on the Western Front during the First World War. Because of its largely static nature, there was a much heavier reliance on field defences and the provision of mobility support to get people, weapons, ammunition, rations and stores up to the front and casualties out. Roads and railways needed to be built, maintained and repaired. Engineers alone could not meet the heavy demand, while riflemen were always needed at the front. Therefore, pioneer battalions were raised to meet the needs of both and trained to support engineers and infantry.
Rifle, Small Magazine Lee-Enfield .303in, Mark III with sword bayonet
Battle Honours:
No Battle Honours were awarded, because the concept of Pioneer Battalions was removed. While some of the Pioneers were employed within concept as both light infantry and engineers, others were almost exclusively employed in the engineer role (arguably negating the need for infantry training) and some almost exclusively as infantry. The time necessary to train troops in both roles made training much longer (see the time scaless above) and reinforcement slow.
