Regimental number | 1556 |
Place of birth | Kilkenny, South Australia |
Religion | Methodist |
Occupation | Labourer |
Address | Kilkenny, South Australia |
Marital status | Single |
Age at embarkation | 19 |
Height | 5' 6" |
Weight | 152 lbs |
Next of kin | Mother, Mrs Carrie Catherine Pretty, Kupman Street, South Australia |
Previous military service | Served for 2 years in 77th Bn, Senior Cadets; transferred to 76th Bn, Citizen Military Forces, and then to 77th Bn; still serving at time of AIF enlistment. |
Enlistment date | |
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
Place of enlistment | Keswick, South Australia |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 32nd Battalion, 1st Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/49/2 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A2 Geelong on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 32nd Battalion |
Fate | Killed in Action |
Place of burial | Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery (Plot I, Row C, Grave No 6), France |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 121 |
Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Parents: Albert James and Carrie Catherine PRETTY |
Other details |
War service: Egypt, Western Front Embarked Adelaide, 18 November 1915; disembarked Suez, 18 December 1915. Found guilty, Ismailia, of being absent without leave from 2 pm parade: forfeited 2 days' pay, and confined to barracks for 3 days. Found guilty, Ferry Post, 12 May 1916, of being absent from CO's parade at 1600: awarded 6 days confined to barracks. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 17 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 23 June 1916. Reported missing, 20 July 1916. Identification disc received from Germany (German Death List, 4 November 1916). No particulars were afforded except that soldier is deceased. To be reported as KILLED IN ACTION 20/7/16. Mother wrote to Base Records, 16 October 1916: 'It is seven weeks today since I received telegram, telling me that my son Private W.H. Pretty, No 1556, was reported missing since July 20th, is there no other information you can send me, the suspense is to (sic) awful ... ' Mother wrote again to Base Records, 14 March 1917: 'I had a letter from the Y.M.C.A. ... telling me , Private W.H. Pretty's name appears on a German death list dated November 4th. Please send me particulars as soon as possible, the suspense is to (sic) dreadful.' German report, 2 August 1916: 'austr. Sold. Pretty, W.H. Nr. 1556. austr. Batt. 32.A.I. am 19.7.16 in Gegen Fromelles gefallen.' Red Cross File No 2200306, has statement by 407 Sergeant C.F. LEWIS: '[Pretty] was lying, severely wounded in the head, in a captured trench and when I last saw him he was unconscious and in a dying condition. This was about 8 p.m. 19th July 1916.' Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal Originally listed as 'No Known Grave' and commemorated at V.C. Corner (Panel No 6), Australian Cemetery, Fromelles; subsequently (2010) identified, and interred in the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, France. |
Sources | NAA: B2455, PRETTY Walter Hainsworth
Red Cross file 2200306 |