William Albert Tolley (1895 - 1916)

Born 7 Mar 1895 in Drouin, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Died 19 Jul 1916 at age 21 in Fromelles, Nord, France

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Biography

Bill was born in1895. He was the son of Albert Tolley. He passed away in 1916.

He served in WW1, Service Number - 3269 : Place of Enlistment - Melbourne VIC, he served in the 7th rein/21st Battalion, at the time of his death, he was part of the 59th battalion

Anzac Day - On the morning of 19 July 1916, after a preliminary bombardment, the 5th Australian and 61st (South Midland) Divisions undertook what is officially known as the Attack at Fromelles. The 61st Division attack failed in the end, with the loss of over 1,000 officers and men out of 3,410 who took part in it.

The Australian left and centre reached the German trenches and held their second line during the day and night, but the right was held off by a fierce machine-gun barrage and only reached the front line in isolated groups. The action was broken off on the morning of 20 July, after the 5th Australian Division had lost over 5,000 officers and men. It was the first serious engagement of the Australian forces in France, and the only one to achieve no success. V.C. Corner Cemetery was made after the Armistice. It contains the graves of over 400 Australian soldiers who died in the Attack at Fromelles and whose bodies were found on the battlefield, but not a single body could be identified. It was therefore decided not to mark the individual graves, but to record on a screen wall the names of all the Australian soldiers who were killed in the engagement and whose graves were not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, commemorates almost 1,300 Australian casualties. (including William Tolley, aged 20, from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia)

Sources

• Vic birth registration #2900/1895, TOLLEY: Albt Wm, Mother's name, Mary NELSON, Father's name: Albt, Place of birth: DROUIN
• handed down family History
• https://my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au/efamily-history/61614254c432a41c09761d75/record/5c653dce4aba80ac318db79d?q=efamily&givenName=Albt%20Wm&familyName=TOLLEY
• https://www.geni.com/people/William-Albert-Tolley/6000000001058687307
• https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ListingReports/ItemsListing.aspx