Regimental number | 1789 |
Place of birth | Stawell, Victoria |
School | Redan State School, Ballarat, Victoria |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Occupation | Miner |
Address | 504 Cobden Street, West Ballarat, Victoria |
Marital status | Married |
Age at embarkation | 28 |
Next of kin | Wife, Mrs Mary Elizabeth Willey, 504 Cobden Street, West Ballarat, Victoria |
Previous military service | Nil |
Enlistment date | |
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
Place of enlistment | Ballarat, Victoria |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 57th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/74/3 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A14 Euripides on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 59th Battalion |
Other details from Roll of Honour Circular | 'Followed the occupation of miner in Ballarat and Daylesford, Victoria; at Mount Lyell, Tasmania; and at Waiuta, New Zealand for period of 20 years.' (details from wife) |
Fate | Effective abroad (still overseas) |
Age at death from cemetery records | 38 |
Place of burial | No known grave |
Commemoration details | V.C. Corner (Panel No 18), Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 169 |
Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Parents: Elizabeth Merry and Josiah WILLEY, 504 Cobden Street, West Ballarat, Victoria. Native of Stawell, Victoria |
Other details |
War service: Egypt, Western Front Taken on strength, 59th Bn, Ferry Post, 24 May 1916. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916. Posted missing, 19 July 1916. Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 29 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'. Handwritten note on Form B103: 'Presumed Buried in No Man's Land approx 5J90 43 to 5K02.5.1 Sheet Hazebrouck 5A'. Statement, Red Cross File No 2950410, 3238 Sergeant E.A.O. BAKER, C Company, 59th Bn (patient, Woodcote Park Hospital, England), 12 October 1916: 'Willey was hanging, badly wounded, on barbed wire in a creek at Armentieres, up to his waist in water. Informant was being carried down wounded and saw this. He got out of his stretcher so as to enable the bearers to go to Wiley's assistance ... Informant does not know what happened after that.' Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Sources | NAA: B2455, WILLEY Josiah
Red Cross file 2950410 |