Western Australia State Memorial
Australia
Photo : Silver Birch Golden Wattle and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence.
For a photograph of the location of the memorial select here.
The Western Australia State War Memorial is a cenotaph (with granite obelisk) in Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia, overlooking the Swan River.
Thanks to Shannon Lovelady and her Western Front Dead from Western Australia project, Western Australia is the first state in Australia to have a comprehensive list of those who died due to their service on the Western Front. These names are currently on the State War Memorial.
5229 names are on the memorial, and have been recorded on the RSLWA (Returned Service League of Western Australia) website for the Honourable Dead.
The names on this website have been recorded on either an Excel spreadsheet or on a PDF document.
1 Officer of the Yorkshire Regiment is commemorated on the memorial.
2nd Lieutenant William Checkley Mills
3rd Battalion attached to 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Son of G. A. Mills J.P., of Broken Hill, New South Wales; husband of Bertha M. Mills, of "Ermelo", Ednah St., Como, South Perth, Western Australia. Served in the South African Campaign. Killed 23 July 1916. Aged 38.
Commemorated on Pier and Face 3A & 3D, THIEPVAL MEMORIAL.
The following notes are from Robert Coulson's Biographies of Officers in The Yorkshire Regiment;-
"An older soldier, William Mills had served in the ranks during the Boer War.
He volunteered his services again at the onset of war and was gazetted on August 4th 1915, joining with the 2nd Battalion in November of 1915 in the Givenchy area.
He fought at Montauban on the first day of the Somme offensive, July 1st 1916.
On July 23rd the 2nd Battalion assembled for an attack on Guillemont which went in at 3-40 a.m. The battalion came up against uncut German wire and were caught in enfilade machine gun and rifle fire.
2nd Lt William Checkley Mills was killed in this action on July 23rd 1916 aged 38."
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