Private William Anthony Young
- Rank
- Private
- Service number
- WX5129
- Unit
- 2/28 Battalion
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action
- Place of death
- El Alamein, Egypt
- Date of death
- 18 July 1942
- Age
- 25
- Plaque number
- L190B
- Co-located plaques
- L190 - PTE Leslie Melbin
- L190A - CPL Morgan Best
- Dedicated by
- Family on 28 October 2023
- More information
Biography presented during plaque dedication:
William Anthony Young was born in June 1917 at Finchley, England to parents William Anthony (Senior) and Olive Mary Young (nee Dewey). He was one of nine siblings. The family emigrated to Australia in 1927 when William was nine years of age.
The family arrived in Albany hoping to secure land but were unsuccessful, they eventually arrived in Fremantle where William attended the White Gum Valley School. On leaving school William became a jockey riding at Belmont and Ascot racecourse where it is believed he had some success in the years of 1935 and 1936.
The family moved to Cue when they fell on hard times and in 1939 William’s father died. His mother remarried and, with William, moved to Boulder.
In July 1940, William enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force attached to the 2/28 Battalion. In March 1941 he married Joan Newman before embarking for overseas service in April 1941. On arriving in the Middle East in May he was promoted to acting Corporal.
In September 1941, William’s battalion was involved in the siege of Tobruk, Libya from Rommel’s Afrika Korp. It was here that William was wounded in action with a gunshot wound to his left leg and thigh.
In a letter William wrote to his mother in August 1941 he describes:
“The desert takes a bit to get used to, with sandstorms, fleas, flies and rats with a few scorpions thrown in and living in dugouts. Isn’t the best. Along with machine guns sprayed all around us and quite a few mortars coming over our way.”
In January 1942, William was in Palestine moving into Lebanon to conduct further training and to prepare defensive systems around the seaport of Tripoli with his battalion.
In June 1942, Rommel’s Afrika Korp had advanced within seventy miles from Alexandria. The Australian’s were rushed back to the desert to the Egyptian town of El Alamein to stop them. On the night of 17 July 1942, the 2/28 Battalion assembled for a night attack to regain ground that had been lost during the days fighting. It was in this attack that William was record as killed in action.
Private William Anthony Young, service number WX5129 of 2/28 Battalion was killed in action at El Alamein on 18 July 1942. He was 25 years of age.
He is buried in the El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt and is remembered with honour.
His plaque is located alongside comrades from the same battalion, Corporal Morgan Best and Private Leslie Melbin.