William Pinkerton Howes

Abt 1892 - 1918  (~ 26 years)

• Name	William Pinkerton Howes  [1, 2, 3]
  Birth	Abt 1891	Collingwood, Victoria, Australia   [1]
  Birth	1892	Collingwood, Victoria, Australia   [2]
  Born	Abt Jan 1892	Collingwood, Victoria, Australia   [3]
  	age 24y 8m at enlistment
  Gender	Male
  Residence	4 Sep 1916	207 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia   [3]
  Physical Description	21 Sep 1916  [3]
  	Ht: 5'10"; wt: 142lb; blue eyes, fair hair
  Service	21 Sep 1916  [3]
  	Private, 37th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force
  	Placed initially in signals corps Note that William's service record runs to 51 pages I
  Occupation	21 Sep 1916  [3]
  	Clerk, railway
  Service	1918  [1]
  	Corporal, Australian Imperial Force
  Service No.	1918  [1]
  	2573
  Occupation	Customs Office clerk  [4]
  Died	30 Aug 1918	Somme, Picardie, France   [1, 3, 4]
  	Age: 27y
  	The Federal Standard, Friday, January 10, 1919 p2 c3 Soldiering - Death of Cpl Howes Mr and Mrs Howes, of Chiltern, have received the following communication from France concerning the death of their son, Corporal William Pinkerton Howes, who was killed in action on the 27th August last. "Just a few lines to express my sympathy for the sad loss of your son, Willie, who was killed on the 27th Aug. I have been a pal of Willie's ever since I came away from Australia. We met first in a signal school in England, where we had many good times together. I was sent to France some months before him for he was made a Corporal and kept on the instructional staff as his ability as signaller was greater than mine. A few months later, to my great joy, he joined up with me in France and was put in charge of the same company signal section that I was in. That pleased him as we were to go into battle together. After that he and I had lots of experiences together, especially in March when the Hun broke through. We had some terrible experiences signalling under shellfire. But 'Billy' was a good soldier and I would follow him anywhere. We always shared the same dugout, and it there was broken telephone wires to mend he and I used always go out together to set matters right. He was worth his weight in gold for the way he used to keep up communications for the company, and a braver soldier never left Australia. He had many friends in the battalion, and we all feel the loss of our comrade. The sad event happened on the 27th August. We left Curlu to take Clery Copse. At about 12 noon Willie was killed. We were advancing over a ridge and the Germans started to shell. A shell burst near Will and he was killed instantly. I was not with him at the time as we were allotted different parties, but I made enquiries of the chaps who saw him killed, and they told me he was killed instantly and bore no pain. The position was near the Corbre-Perrone road. I do not know where he was buried as I had to move on with the advance. I cannot express on paper my sympathy for yourself and family at the sad loss of your son and my comrade. I am a Euroa boy and knew Tommy (deceased's brother) when he was in the bank there. A.J.Johnstone.
  Buried	Abt Sep 1918	Hem Farm Military Cemetery, Hem-Monacu, Picardie, France   [1]
  Probate	6 Aug 1919	Victoria, Australia   [3]
  	Effects: £257 4s 5d; Admin to father
  Person ID	I96471	ONS
  Last Modified	1 Mar 2015

  
  

  Father	Thomas Howes,   b. 21 Nov 1859, Back Park, Daisy Hill, Victoria, Australia ,   d. 15 Feb 1949, Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia  (Age 89 years)
  Mother	Florence Nightingale Pinkerton,   b. Abt 1862,   d. 7 Feb 1941, Chiltern, Victoria, Australia  (Age ~ 79 years)
  Married	1883	Talbot, Victoria, Australia
  Married	16 Aug 1883	Black Dog Creek, Chiltern, Victoria, Australia   [4]
  	From Federal Standard, August 18, 1933: GOLDEN WEDDING HOWES -PINKERTON A surprise party was tendered Mr and Mrs Thomas Howes of Black Dog Creek, Chiltern, on Wednesday night, the occasion being the 50th anniversary of their wedding day. There was a large assemblage of relatives and friends and a few pleasant hours were whiled away in card playing, speechifying and harmony. Congratulations were extended from all quarters, and telegrams were received from many parts of Victoria and New South Wales. Mr Howes was married at Chiltern, by the Rev Thomas Moorhouse, Church of England Minister, the bride being Miss Florence Pinkerton, daughter of one of the oldest Chiltern identities. Mr Howes is a native of Back Creek, Talbot, and was born there in 1859. He came to Chiltern as a young man and followed the occupation of a miner, being connected with the Phoenix and United Miners’ claims which have good returns at times. Being a man of some ability he was induced to enter public life. He became president of the Chiltern branch of the Amalgamated Miners’ Association and passed through some strenuous times while occupant of the office in connection with differences between the miners and management. For years he has been a councillor and on many occasions filled the positions of president to Chilternshire and at the present time holds the office of chief magistrate of the town. The descendants of the union are Messrs John (postal official at Inglewood) and Thomas (Country Roads Board office, Melbourne), and Mrs Thomas Hayes (Black Dog Creek, Chiltern). One son (William) made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War. Both Mr and Mrs Howes were the recipients of a large wedding cake, besides many valuable presents
  Witness	16 Aug 1883  [4]
  	Paul Pringle
  Witness	16 Aug 1883  [4]
  	Robert Scown
  Family ID	F22752	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - Abt 1891 - Collingwood, Victoria, Australia Birth - 1892 - Collingwood, Victoria, Australia Born - Abt Jan 1892 - Collingwood, Victoria, Australia Died - Age: 27y - 30 Aug 1918 - Somme, Picardie, France Probate - 6 Aug 1919 - Victoria, Australia  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S611] Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. [S970] Australia Birth Index. [S1775] Australian Military Records, recordsearch.naa.gov.au. [S1780] Chiltern Athenaeum Museum, chilternathenaeum.com.au.