Can you help find William?

William John “Willie” Francis was born in 1897 in Carlton, Victoria, the only child of John Francis (1869-1923), and Alice Emma Jackson (1871-1902). John and Alice were married at Carlton in 1896. Emma’s family came to Victoria from Lambeth, London in 1849. Willie’s grandfather John Jackson was still alive in Carlton 1912. Willie’s father John was a police constable at Collingwood and the family lived at 365 Wellington Street, Clifton Hill.

Tragedy struck early in Willie’s life. His mother Alice died in March 1902, just 30 years old, leaving John a widower and Willie without his mother at the age of four. Her death notice described her as “the beloved wife of Constable John Francis” of Collingwood Station. Four years later, John married Mary Ann Elder, providing Willie with a stepmother during his formative years. The family moved a few doors away to “Avenel”, 431 Wellington Street, Clifton Hill, which became their long-term home and the address Willie listed when he enlisted for war. After his schooling, Willie became a plumber.

18-year-old Willie left his Clifton Hill home on 7 July 1915 to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force (though he lied about his age in his enlistment documents to ensure he would be accepted, claiming he was 21, a not unusual practice). He was assigned to D Company of the newly formed 31st Battalion. The 31st Battalion was formed with two companies from Queensland and two companies from Victoria. Victorian enlistees trained at the camp at Flemington Depot and then at Broadmeadows. The full battalion was joined in early October at the Broadmeadows camp.

Before sailing from Melbourne on 9 November 1915 aboard the troopship Wandilla, the 991 soldiers of the 31st had been on parade in Melbourne in front of a good crowd. The Minister for Defence, H.F. Pearce said:

The Wandilla docked at Port Suez exactly four weeks after leaving Melbourne. The 31st were first sent to Serapeum to continue their training and to guard the Suez Canal from any potential threats posed by the Ottoman Army. Near the end of February, they moved to the large camp at Tel-el-Kebir which, was about 110 km northeast of Cairo.

The 40,000 men in the camp were comprised of Gallipoli veterans and the thousands of reinforcements arriving regularly from Australia. The 60 km trip must have been unpleasant, as it was reported that they were moved in “dirty horse trucks.”

Source - AWM4 23/48/7, 31st Battalion War Diaries, Feb 1916, page 5

The next move was at the end of March, back to the Suez Canal at the Ferry Post and Duntroon Camps and then finally to Moascar at the end of May. The months passed in training and sightseeing, but by the time the 31st Battalion was transferred to France, the men were all heartily sick of Egypt. Private Les Smith’s (934) letter home pretty well sums it up.

On 15 June, the 31st began to make their way to the Western Front, first by train from Moascar to Alexandria and then sailing to Marseilles aboard the troopship Hororata.

After disembarking on 23 June, they were immediately boarded onto trains to Steenbeque and then marched to their camp at Morbecque, 35 km from Fleurbaix in northern France, arriving on 26 June. The battalion strength was 1019 soldiers. The area near Fleurbaix was known as the “Nursery Sector” – a supposedly relatively quiet area where inexperienced Allied troops could learn the harsh realities of Western Front trench warfare against the Germans.

But the quiet times and the training period did not last long. Training continued, now with how to handle poisonous gas included in their regimen. They began their move towards Fromelles on 8 July and by 11 July they were into the trenches for the first time.

The overall plan was to use brigades from the Australian Fifth Division to conduct a diversionary assault on the German trenches at Fromelles. The main attack was planned for the 17th, but bad weather caused it to be postponed. On the 19th they were back into the trenches and in position at 4.00 PM. The Zero Hour for advancing from their front-line trenches was to be 5.45 PM, but the Germans knew this attack was coming and were well-prepared:

The assault began at 5.58 PM and they went forward in four waves - A and C Company in the first two waves and B and Willie’s D Company in the 3rd and 4th waves. There were machine gun emplacements to their left and directly ahead at Delrangre Farm and there was heavy artillery fire in No-Man’s-Land. The pre battle bombardment did have a big impact and by 6.30 PM the Aussies were in control of the German’s 1st line system (Trench B in the diagram below), which was described as “practically a ditch with from 1 to 2 feet of mud and slush at the bottom.”

Source - AWM4 23/49/12, 32nd Battalion War Diaries, July 1916, page 11

Unfortunately, with the success of their attack, ‘friendly’ artillery fire caused a large number of casualties. By 8.30 PM the Australians’ left flank had come under heavy bombardment with high explosives and shrapnel. Return bombardment support was provided and the 32nd, who also had the job of holding the flank to the left of the 31st, were told that “the trenches were to be held at all costs”.

Source - AWM4 23/49/12, 32nd Battalion War Diaries, July 1916, page 12

Fighting continued through the night. The Australians made a further charge at the main German line beyond Trench B, but they were low on grenades, there was machine-gun fire from behind from the emplacement at Delangre Farm and they were so far advanced that they were getting shelled by both sides. At 4.00 AM the Germans began an attack from the Australian’s left flank, bombing and advancing into Trench A (map). Given the Australian advances that had been made earlier, portions of the rear Trench E had been left almost empty, which then enabled the Germans to be in a position to surround the soldiers.

At 5.30 AM the Germans attacked from both flanks in force and with bombing parties. Having only a few grenades left themselves, the only resistance the 31st could offer was with rifles:

The 31st were out of the trenches by the end of the day on the 20th. From the 1019 soldiers who left Egypt, the initial impact was assessed as 77 soldiers were killed or died from wounds, 414 were wounded and 85 were missing. To get some perspective of the battle, when Charles Bean, Australia’s official war historian, attended the battlefield two and half years later, he observed a large quantity of bones, torn uniforms and Australian kit still on the battlefield.

The ultimate total was that 161 soldiers from the 31st were either killed or died from wounds and of this total 82 were missing/unidentified. The bravery of the soldiers of the 31st was well recognised by their own Battalion commanders.

The battle came at a terrible cost. During the attack Willie was struck and killed by shellfire while in the front line, as documented by fellow D Company soldier Private Harry John Phillips (915).

While this information was taken in November, given the scope of the battle, communications such as these were often delayed. Willie’s father only knew that Willie was missing and he clung to hope that Willie may have survived as a prisoner. His father wrote repeatedly to the Red Cross, desperately seeking news of his “only child.” In September 1916, believing Willie might have been captured, he sent parcels and a money, writing:

But by April 1917, his tone had shifted to dread:

It wasn’t until August 1, 1917 that a Court Enquiry in the Field officially recorded Willie as having been killed in action on 20 July 1916. His body was never identified and he has no known grave. A year after the battle, a very touching family notice appeared in The Age:

Willie was awarded the 1914-15 Star Medal, the Victory Medal, the British War Medal, a Memorial Plaque and a Memorial Scroll.

He is commemorated at VC Corner Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles Panel 3 and is also included on the family headstone at Melbourne General Cemetery alongside his mother Alice Emma and his father John.

When John Francis died in 1923, his obituary carried the simple, devastating line:

While Willie’s body was never recorded, but his records have an undated, handwritten note, “Buried at Fleurbaix”, with a general map reference of the battle area. Over 50 soldiers from the 31st have similar notes in their files, as well as soldiers in other battalions.

The basis for this annotation is unknown, but as it is specific and does not apply to all soldiers might imply that Army had gained some information at some time on the burial of these men. Men from other battalions also have such annotations. To date (2024), twenty soldiers from the 31st with this or similar burial comments been identified as being from the Pheasant Wood grave. As of 2024, over 180 of the 250 soldiers from that grave have been identified using DNA from living relatives, including 23 of the 82 missing soldiers from the 31st.

Willie may still be among the unidentified men. We welcome family from all branches to come forward to assist with the DNA process. If you are related or know someone who might be connected to his family — particularly those with roots in Victoria— please reach out. We hope that one day Willie will be named and honoured with a known grave.

Please visit Fromelles.info to follow the ongoing identification project and William’s story.