Contributed by Ron Inglis, October 2021:
When William Stanley Eeles, 28, bricklayer, enlisted in Sydney on 24 August 1914, he indicated he had been born in Sussex, England, and that he had served in the 3rd London Rifles. For his next-of-kin, Eeles first nominated his father in Alberta, Canada, but this was later changed to his brother in Transvaal, South Africa.
As was common in the service records of those who enlisted very early in the First World War, there are gaps in Private Eeles' records. The first entry indicates he left Alexandria in Egypt on the Lake Michigan on 5 April 1915, bound for the ‘British Expeditionary Force’. Given this, Eeles could have been on Gallipoli on the first day, 25 April 1915, but there is no record of this.
Eeles was listed as Missing in Action during the battle of Lone Pine on Gallipoli in August 1915. On file are a number of letters from a Miss Marian Langworthy of Adderley Street, Auburn, seeking information.
Eeles was declared killed in action sometime in August 1915 by a court of inquiry held in France in April 1916. After the war, his body was reinterred into the Lone Pine Cemetery on the Gallipoli peninsular.
The name 'Eeles W S' was one of 10 names on an extra tablet added to the Auburn War Memorial after unveiling day, 30 April, 1922. It is possible Miss Langworthy put forward Eeles' name for inclusion on the memorial.
William Eeles is honoured on the following memorials in Australia:
- Auburn War Memorial
- Municipality of Auburn 1914-1919 Honour Roll
- Roll of Honour Australian War Memorial Canberra
His decorations:
- British War Medal
- 1914-20 Victory Medal
- 1914-1915 Star
