Bill Williamson

Ancestors

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Bill Williamson is an Anzac who served in World War Two.

Biography

William John Williamson, known as Bill was born in 1920 in White Cliffs, NSW, Australia. He was the son of Bernard Williamson, of Abbotsford Station, Ivanhoe, NSW.

Bill inlisted in the Army at the age of 21 on 27 June 1941 in Paddington (Sydney). He listed his occupation as Station Work (overseer), most likely assisting his father on the family station Abbotsford in the Ivanhoe district and he was unmarried. He left Sydney on 9 Jan 1942 and arrived in Singapore on the 26th. His WWII service number was NX37472.

He was listed Missing in Action in Malaya on 16 February 1942. After 18 months in captivity as a Japanese Prisoner of War he died of beri-beri, a disease caused by thiamine deficiency, around July 1943 in the Sonkrai POW Camp on the Thailand/Burma border, most likely while working on the Burma Railway. His death was officially registered as being 22 August 1943.

He was originally buried at Sonkrai, Thailand and later re-interred in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Thanbyuzayat, Mon State, Myanmar following the war.

Sources

• New South Wales Births Deaths and Marriages Birth Registration 40300/1920 WILLIAM J WILLIAMSON, son of BERNARD H and MARY C at WHITE CLIFFS
• Australian War Memorial Honour Roll[1]
• IVANHOE (1945, April 20). Western Grazier (Wilcannia, NSW : 1896 - 1951), p. 3. Retrieved December 24, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133046765
• "IVANHOE" The Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 - 1954) 19 June 1951: 2. Web. 24 Dec 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137339092>.
• National Archives of Australia Military Records [2]