William Mitchell Young (1885)

Born 1885 in Canongate, Edinburgh, Edinburghshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Biography

William was probably born in 1885 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1917 he stated he was 30 and born in Glasgow, but the "best fit" birth record is for Edinburgh.

He was a fitter by trade, having served his apprenticeship with Messrs. Alley & MacLennan of Glasgow, completing his apprenticeship in 1908. He then worked for them as a fitter for a further year before migrating to Australia.

He worked for Bryant & May, Bell & Co in Melbourne, Victoria from Sep 1909 to Sep 1913, then for Globe Motor Co. & James Munro & Co., both in Melbourne as a fitter. He moved to Sydney, NSW in Jun 1915 and commenced work for Turner Bros. as a fitter. He was living in Leichhardt, NSW at that time.

On 28 Jan 1916 he signed a contract with Vickers Ltd to work as a Munitions Worker in the UK for the duration of the War. He embarked from Sydney on the SS "Medina" on 16 Feb 1916 disembarking at Tilbury, England on 04 Apr 1916. He commenced work at Vickers Ltd at Barrow-in-Furness as a turner the same month and worked there for a year before transferring to their factory in Birmingham where he was employed as a machine tool fitter from Apr 1917.

On 06 Oct 1917 he applied to become an Australian Munitions Worker under the joint Australian government/British government scheme. At the time he was single and living in Wards End, Birmingham. His next of kin were his parents who were living in Rutherglen, Glasgow. He was accepted and was issued with Australian Munitions Worker Badge No. 1209. He continued to work for Vickers for the duration of the War.

He returned to Australia on the "City of Cairo", departing England on 31 Jan 1919.^[1] His agreement with the Australian government was terminated on 08 Jul 1919 as complete.

No record has been found of him following his return to Australia.

Research Note

A William Mitchell Young died in Victoria in 1929, but this appears to be a different man.

Sources

1. ↑ WAR WORKERS. (1919, March 14). The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), p. 7 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved May 15, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81844396

• Birth - ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk - Statutory registers - Births - YOUNG WILLIAM MITCHEL; M; 1885; 685/3 144; Canongate

• WW1 Australian Munitions Worker Service File - National Archives of Australia - YOUNG William Mitchell - Munitions Worker Number 1209 - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=5910632