Person

William Laidler left England with his brother, Thomas, in 1912 at the age of just 18. Three years later he returned to England
accompanied by fellow recruits to the Australian Army; ready to fight for King and Country.

William was born in South Shields on 24 February 1894 and christened a month later at St Hilda’s on 25 March. He was the sixth of the seven children of Thomas Laidler, a plate glass cutter from Wallsend and his wife, Sarah Ann Brown, from Percy Main.

Before he left England, William worked as a railway lamp-lighter for North East Railways but with his brother, Thomas, he decided to start a new life in Australia as a farmhand.

The two brothers left London with many other young workers, all registered as farm workers, aboard the “Themosticles”, on 12 September 1912. Also on board was another Shields family, the Firmstones, who had previously moved to Langley Moor but were now seeking a better life in New South Wales (NSW). William became friendly with the daughter, Janet, a friendship which flourished over the next few years.

When they reached Australia, both William and Thomas gave up on the idea of working on the land and both settled in the area around Newcastle to become miners. William went to live in Kurri Kurri where, coincidently, the Firmstone family also settled.

Less than three years later, however, William joined the Australian Army, in Newcastle on 31 August 1915. He enlisted as a private, initially with the 4th Reinforcements for the 30th Battalion (Infantry).

It was not until 11 March 1916, that William finally embarked from Sydney for Europe. Once in England, he transferred to the 5th Pioneer Battalion and was taken on its strength in France on 21 July. The battalion was ordered to lay telephone cables and construct railway lines, initially around the area of Fromelles.

The 5th Pioneer Battalion was stationed in the Somme Valley at the end of 1916 when William’s unit came under fire yet again. He was hit in the head and left hand and was evacuated as soon as possible to the 2nd Southern Hospital in Bristol. His wounds healed slowly but the injuries he had sustained meant he could never return to active service. He was classed as medically unfit and returned to Australia on 4 May 1917.

William was discharged on 28 August 1917, and was awarded a pension of £3 per fortnight.

In 1919, he finally married Janet Firmstone and they settled in the Whickham area of Newcastle, NSW where William was eventually able to find labouring and maintenance work.

William died on 11 June 1951.

Civil Parish: South Shields

Birth date: 24-Feb-1894

Death date: 11-Jun-1951

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: 24 Eaglesfield Road, South Shields (ecclesiastical parish of St Jude’s 1901 census)
200 Alice Street, South Shields (1911 census)
Railway Street, Kurri Kurri, NSW, Australia (1915 attestation papers)
“Firmstone”, Victoria Street, Kurri Kurri, NSW (1917 discharge papers)
Fern Street, Islington, Whickham, Newcastle, NSW, (1932-49 electoral rolls)

Employment: Lamp lighter on North East Railways, Miner, Maintenance Man

Family: Parents: Thomas Laidler (1852-1916), Sarah Ann Laidler (nee Brown 1856-1921)
Siblings: Annie Laidler (b 1878), John Laidler (b 1882), Ethel Laidler (b 1888), Thomas Laidler (1889-1974), Henry Laidler (1891-1980), Matthew Laidler (1896-1970)
Wife: Janet Laidler (nee Firmstone b 1900 in South Shields)

Military service:

Service Number 2378
Private
30th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force (AIF)
5th Pioneer Battalion
Enlisted 31-Aug-1915
Discharged as medically unfit 28-Aug-1917

Medal(s): British War Medal
Victory Medal

Gender: Male

Contributed by Kelloe Visitor, Trimdon Station