William John Proud

Submitted by Mt Kembla Minin... on Mon, 26/10/2015 - 13:01
First Name: 
William
Middle Name: 
John
Last Name: 
Proud
Date of Birth: 
Tuesday, October 29, 1895
Mother's Name: 
Alice Proud (nee Davis)
Father's Name: 
William Proud
Date Enlisted: 
Monday, December 11, 1916
Rank at Enlistment: 
Private
Rank at Discharge: 
Private
Unit: 
20th Battalion
Company: 
D
Service: 
Infantry
Awards: 
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Date of Death: 
Thursday, September 20, 1917
Place of Death: 
Polygon Wood, Belgium
Cause of Death: 
Killed in action
Details: 

William Proud (Service No 6632) was born in Newcastle, N.S.W.

William enlisted when he was 22 years old.  He was single, worked as a fireman, and lived at Helensburgh, N.S.W.  William had served 4 years in the 37th infantry Militia.

He embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A18 Wiltshire with 19th Reinforcements, 20th Battalion on 7th February 1917.  The troops arrived in England on 11th April 1917.

William joined 16 Platoon D Company, 20th battalion, in France, on 1st August 1917. The 20th Battalion was involved in the fighting at Polygon Wood, Belgium, and many men, William included, were temporarily unaccounted for, due to the intensity of the fighting.  On 23rd September 1917, William was reported to be wounded in action and on 3rd November was listed as 'wounded and missing in action'.  Finally, on 5th May 1918 William was declared to have been killed in action on 20th September 1917.

William is buried in Bedford House Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium: Enclosure Plot VI, Row B, Grave 8.

Sources: 
NAA: B2455, PROUD WILLIAM JOHN

Links

Comments

Ann Jones [nee ... (not verified)

Wed, 10/10/2018 - 00:02

Half way through this record William John`s name seems to be changed to Thomas. Could someone check to see if this is just a misprint or two people have had their records entwined.
Either way could this be corrected as soon as possible.
You see William John Proud was my dad`s oldest brother and I would like this to be corrected so I can pass this information on to my sons.
Thank you
Ann.

wollongongcityl...

Thu, 25/10/2018 - 19:37

We apologise for the errors which appeared in this record and hope it did not cause any distress.  The entry has now be corrected and shows the correct name of William John Proud. 

Thank you for informing of these mistakes - we rely on such feedback to help us retain as accurate an entry as we possibly can.  

Thank you for using our website and we hope that, as brief as this information is, it has been helpful.