William Thomas Dartnell VC (1885 - 1915)

Ancestors

Biography

William Thomas 'Wilbur Taylor' Dartnell was born in 6th April 1885 in Collingwood, Colony of Victoria (Australia). He was the third son of English emigrant Henry Dartnell and Victorian-born Rose Ann Hanley. ^[1]

William enlisted in the 5th Battalion, Victorian Mounted Rifles, serving in South Africa during the Second Boer War from February 1901 to March 1902; aged just fifteen years. ^[2] The battalion saw considerable action during the war, being used to combat the guerilla warfare tactics of the Boers. Leslie Maygar, a Lieutenant in the 5VMR, was awarded the Victoria Cross in November 1901 for gallantry in Natal Province. For his service, William was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal.

On 15th April 1907 in Melbourne, Victoria, William married Elizabeth Smyth. ^[3] The couple had two daughters, however, the younger died in infancy:

1. Doris Elizabeth Edith (1906-); married Roy Porter (1904-63) in 1930
2. Wilhelmina May (1908-08)

Victoria Cross

Dartnell was in South Africa, possibly mining, when Great Britain (and by default, Australia) declared war on Germany on 28th July 1914. He promptly went to England and on 12th February 1915, using the name Wilbur Taylor Dartnell, was commissioned in the 25th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Frontiersmen), as a temporary Lieutenant. As the regimental history notes, this battalion 'included men of various ages and with strange experience from all quarters of the globe'. Raised especially for use against German troops in British East Africa (Kenya), it was the only British unit sent on active service during the war without preliminary training. The Fusiliers reached Mombasa on 4th May and went at once to their military post on the Uganda railway: their main task was to protect the railway from enemy raiding parties. In June the Fusiliers captured Bukoba, the German base for attacks in the district.

In August, the battalion had its headquarters at Voi and two of its companies stationed at Maktau to patrol the frontier. Dartnell, whose rank had been confirmed on 25th July, was assigned on 1st September to a mounted infantry patrol and two days later, near Maktau, his party was ambushed by a 200-strong force of Germans and Ashanti. In the fighting that followed he was wounded in the leg and was being carried away when he realized that the badly wounded could not be removed. 'Knowing that the enemy's black troops murdered the wounded' he 'insisted on being left behind in the hopes of being able to save the lives of the other wounded men'. Though he was twice asked to leave, he ordered his men to abandon him and began firing on the Germans who were within twenty-five yards of his post. When his body was found, seven enemy dead lay around it. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for giving his own life in a 'gallant attempt to save others'. ^[4] Technically, as William was not serving in Australia's military force but in the British Army, he should not be counted in Australia's tally of VC recipients; although he invariably is.

William was buried in Voi Cemetery, British East Africa. He was survived by his wife, who passed in 1965 aged about 83 years, and daughter, Doris. For this second active service he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal; issued to his widow following the war.

His VC is on display at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

Sources

1. ↑ Victorian birth registration 1885: 09061,,Dartnell,William Thomas,Henry,Hanley Rose Ann,Collingwood,
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: 1172 Private William Thomas Dartnell; accessed 17 Apr 2019
3. ↑ Victorian marriage registration 1907: 04239,,Dartnell,William,Smith,Elizabeth Edith,Carlton, 1907: 04239,,Dartnell,William,Smyth,Elizabeth Edith,Carlton,reg(R) 1907: 04239,,Smith,Elizabeth Edith,Dartnell,William,Brunswick,reg(R) 1907: 04239,,Smyth,Elizabeth Edith,Dartnell,William,Brunswick,
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: 1172 Lieutenant William Thomas Dartnell VC; accessed 17 Apr 2019

See also

• Blanch, Craig and Pegram, Aaron. For Valour: Australians awarded the Victoria Cross. New South Publishing, Sydney NSW, 2018. ISBN 978 17422 35424.
• Australian War Memorial: Lieutenant William Thomas Dartnell VC; accessed 15 Mar 2018.
• Lincoln, Merrilyn. 'Dartnell, William Thomas (1885–1915)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1981; accessed online 15 Mar 2018.
• Wikipedia profile: Wilbur Dartnell; accessed 15 Mar 2018.