The Australian Boer War Memorial
Anzac Parade Canberra

 
 
Corporal Franklin Willmette

Ancestor Details

Ancestor's Name: Franklin Henry Eardley Willmette

Ancestor's date of birth: 1877

Ancestor's date of death: 11/05/1961

Cause of Death: Age Related

Service and Life Before the Boer War: Franklyn was born in Braidwood, NSW. He was generally known by the name Harry. Prior to the war he was married to Annie and had three children. He was working in Murrumburrah at the time of the war.

Service Number: 471

Colony or State of enlistment: NSW, Place of Enlistment: Murrumburrah

Unit: 2nd New South Wales Mounted Rifles

Rank attained in Boer War: CPL, Date Effective: 19/03/1901

Highest Rank attained (if served after war): No evidence of post Boer War service

Murray Page: 122

Contingent: Fifth New South Wales

Ship: SS Custodian, Date of Sailing: 17/03/1901

Other Boer War Service: He also served as no 271 Corporal in 3rd NSWIB which implies that either he was a member of Haslers Scouts a reconnaissance unit jointly shared by both units (and which stayed to the end of the war) and/or he signed on with 3NSWIB when 2NSWMR went home.

Memorial details: Detail not provided.

Awards/Decorations/Commendations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902.

Personal Characteristics: Detail not provided.

Reasons to go and fight: Detail not provided.

Details of service in war: Served in the western Transvaal from 23 April to 1 October 1901, the principal operations being the capture of Potgieters convoy on the Vaal 24 May, 1901; capture of general Delarey's convoy of 106 wagons, and a large quantity of cattle and ammunition. Then served in the eastern Transvaal; engaged in many night marches in resulting in over 1000 prisoners being captured. The during the year of 1901 his regiment travelled 6500 kilometres in every part of the Transvaal. One specially noteworthy feature was that, whilst constantly engaging the enemy only 18 men were taken prisoners and of them the large number were on the first flight at Koranafontein and through no fault of the men. No column made more night marches; one march made on the night of 11 March 1902 from Brugspruit over the difficult Wilge River to Dorneck, a distance of 72 kilometres which, with the return journey makes a distance of 120 kilometres is worthy of mention.

Service and life after the Boer War: After the war he eventually ended up in Sydney. During the 1930s he was an ice manufacturer in Hurstville. He married for a second time.

Descendant Details

Name of Descendant: Joyce Gruetzner, Boorowa NSW
Relationship to Ancestor: Great niece

 


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RUSI of NSW Boer War Battlefields