St.Malo William J Desborough
| First name | St.Malo William J |
|---|---|
| Last name | Desborough |
| Country of Origin | Kent UK |
| Date of Birth | 19/08/1888 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1912 |
| Submitted by | John Desborough |
Story
Born in Shotton/ Connahs Quay area of north Wales in 1888.
Arrived in Aust. in 1912 on board tha “Ragnatira” with the Howard family, he was aged 24. “Rangatira was owned by the Shaw Savill and Albion Co.Ltd. He was travelling 3rd class and departed London on the 26th July 1912. It was whilst on board that he met his future wife, Victoria May Howard, whom he married in 1914.
Some time after arriving in Sydney, he went to Fiji and worked for W. R. Carpenters, a well known South Seas trading company, as crew (purser) of a trading schooner. He returned to Australia at the outbreak of WW1 to marry and shortly thereafter enlisted in the A.I.F. Whilst in Fiji he met ‘Bully Hays’ who was a slave trader, convicted of blackbirding for the cane fields of Queensland.
He served an apprenticeship as a Sailmaker in the UK. and practised that trade until his retirment. His father-in-Law taught him the hat renovation trade. He worked in the family hat renovation business in Neutral Bay, Sydney, for a while then opened his own shop in 186 William St., Sydney; then 283 George St., Wynyard and later moved to Rawson Place. He left this work at the outbreak of WW2 and went to work on Garden Island as a canvas worker and sail maker. At the end of the war he found employment with West Sails in North Sydney and later Antill Sails in Crows Nest.
According to his enlistment papers, lived at 23a Mosman St., Mosman when he applied to enlist on the 18th May 1916, but by 6/6/1916 when he was accepted for enlistment, he had changed his address to 8 Harbour St. Mosman. In 1921 he lived in Dudley St., Balgowlah and in1922 he lived in West St., Balgowlah. Records of the Electoral roll div.nth Sydney.1915, gives an address as 41 Cowles Rd Mosman.
Enlisted in the A.I.F. on 6/6/1916 as Private, 1st. Division. 1st. Pioneer battalion, 6th reinforcements. Number 2843. He was 27 at the time. He received his basic training in Victoria and was posted overseas. He embarked on the “Borda” on 17/10/1916. The ship reached England in the January and he disembarked at Plymouth on 9/1/1917. He had spent Christmas at sea.
On the 19/4/1917 he was posted to France. On the 12/9/1917 he was wounded “gassed” and was sent to a hospital behind the lines in France. On the 6/6/1918 he caught Influenza and was admitted to hospital in Rouen, France. On the 4/8/1919 he embarked on the ship “Ormonde” for Australia. He was honourably discharged on 11/9/1919.
His name is on the war memorial in Mosman Park, Mosman, Sydney.