Volunteers of Essendon and Flemington, 1914-1918
Driver William John Mountain, signed by him on 14 June 1916. The photographer
was T Humphrey of Collins St, Melbourne. (Photo courtesy of Don Mountain)
Mountain W J Driver 25919 William John 23 Howitzer Bde 24 Draftsman Single C of E
Address: Essendon, Buckley St, 136, “Craigilea”
Next of Kin: Mountain, W J, father, "Craigilea" 136 Buckley St, Essendon
Enlisted: 26 Feb 1916
Embarked: A67 Orsova 1 Aug 1916
Relatives on Active Service:
Fraser-C-McA-Sapper-3642 mother's cousin
Todd-J-C-RMS-1 future brother in law
Warren H S Sgt cousin
See also SNAPSHOTS FROM THE HOME FRONT - THE MOUNTAIN FAMILY AND THE ESSENDON RED CROSS
A draftsman of Essendon, Victoria, Mountain embarked on HMAT Orsova. He later transferred to the 1st Divisional Ammunition Column then the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. He was killed in action, taking a direct hit in his gun pit Zillebeke on 24 August 1917, aged 25. He was buried at Reninghelst near Ypres, Belgium. He was the only son of William John Mountain senior, who was the Secretary for Australia, Melbourne Electric Supply Co Ltd. W J Mountain senior was an Essendon Councillor from 1897 to 1908, and again from 1910 until 1921. He was Mayor twice, in 1901-02 and 1917-18.
.
Date of Death: 24/08/1917
CWGC: "Son of William John and Julia Mountain, of Buckley St., Essendon, Victoria, Australia".
RENINGHELST NEW MILITARY CEMETERY
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The Argus September 7 1917
AUSTRALIANS ON SERVICE. KILLED IN ACTION. MOUNTAIN, W J - The mayor of Essendon (Councillor Mountain) has been officially notified that his only son, William John, was killed in action in France on August 24. |
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ROLL OF HONOR KILLED IN ACTION. GUNNER WM. J. MOUNTAIN.
When the official notification of the death in action in France of Gunner William John Mountain was received last week there were not wanting visible signs of grief among those very many friends the ill-fated young soldier left behind him in this district when he went to the front to do his duty for King and Country.
The only son of Cr. W J. Mountain, Mayor of Essendon, Gunner Mountain, who was a member of the 3rd Battery, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, 1st Division, is reported to have made the supreme sacrifice on 24th August, at the age of 25. It is only a few days ago since Cr. Mountain was elected Mayor of the city and that the shadow of a great sorrow should enshroud the inception of his municipal activities in this important office is pathetic in the extreme. The circumstances surrounding the death generally have been responsible for a wave of sympathy being extended to the Mayor and Mayoress. On receipt of the intelligence the flag at the Moonee Ponds Town Hall was flying at half-mast, and at municipal, judicial and patriotic gatherings held locally the sad tidings were referred to by public men and women, and receptions, conveying messages of condolence were carried and forwarded to Cr. and Mrs. Mountain.
Gunner Mountain was exceedingly popular in Essendon. He was educated at the Scotch College, and prior to going to the front, about a year ago, was engaged as a draughtsman on the staff of the Metropolitan Board of Works. One of his favourite recreations was tennis, and he was a well- known player on local courts.
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JUSTICES EXPRESS SYMPATHY. Before the business was entered on at the Essendon Court on Monday, Mr. J. D. Graham, J.P., who occupied the chair, said he desired to extend the condolences of the honorary justices to Cr W. J. Mountain and his wife in the bereavement they had sustained in the loss of their only son, who had fallen at the front. The blow was pathetic in that it occurred at the inception of Cr. Mountain's term of office as Mayor of Essendon, and he was confident that the regrets expressed by the justices would be endorsed by the whole of the ratepayers. He hoped that the fact that the young soldier in the prime of a promising life died in a noble cause would prove some consolation to his grief-stricken parents. Messrs R Kerr and G. V. Blackburne, H. J. O'Neill, Sergeant Bennett, and R. C. Breese added their condolences. |
First World War Red Cross Wounded and MissingAustralian War Memorial Collection
Havre 5th Nov 1917
Informant: Gunner V C Wilson 29181 1st Bgde 3rd Battery AFA. No 10 Amb Train Havre. London 5.12.17 |
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Sgt. H. S. Warren, whose exploit in winning the Military Medal was recently reported in the "'Herald," is a nephew of the Mayor and Mayoress of Essendon (Cr. and Mrs. W. J. Mountain).
ROLL OF HONOUR. (1918, August 8). The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2 Edition: Morning. Retrieved August 9, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74606859 |
Father speaks at a farewell to Muir-M-G-Gunner-32351 1916.
Father misses a meeting because of bereavement Stanbridge C A Pte 6901A Sep 1917
War Service Commemorated
Aberfeldie Bowling Club Great War Honour Board
St John's Presbyterian Church*
Essendon Gazette Roll of Honour With the Colours
Roll of Honour of employees of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
On the left is a soldier of the Australian Imperial Force receiving the Crown of Life from Jesus. This window commemorates William John Mountain. On the right St George of England crushes the head of a dragon beneath his heel. The captions read, on the left, "Be Thou Faithful unto Death and I Will Give Thee a Crown of Life. Rev 11.10" and on the right, "In Loving Memory of Lieut Harold Carlyle Parker, 27th Battln, Died of wounds within the German Lines at Armentieres, 30th Jany 1917, aged 25 years. Thy Will be done". St John's Uniting Church, Mt Alexander Rd, Essendon. (Photo: Lenore Frost 2009)
Commemorative plaque at St John's Uniting (formerly
Presbyterian) Church, Mt Alexander Rd, Essendon.
(Photo: Lenore Frost)
Driver W J Mountain, from the Scotch College commemorative website.
In Memoriam
MOUNTAIN. -Killed in action in France on
August 24, 1917, Gunner William John Moun-
tain, jun., of 3rd Battery, lst Field Artillery
Brigade, 1st Division, only and beloved son
of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Mountain (Essendon),
loving brother of Hilda, Marjorie, and Doris,
and grandson of the late W. J. Mountain, of
South Melbourne, aged 25 years.
The Argus 8 September 1917
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1648025
MOUNTAIN -In loving remembrance of my dear
pal, Gunner Will Mountain, died in action in
France on the 2tth August, 1917.
-(Inserted by his pal, Gunner J McGregor, on
active service.)
The Argus 24 August 1918
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1436034
MOUNTAIN.-In loving memory of my dear pal,
Will Mountain, who fell in action in Flanders
on the 24th of August, 1917.
(inserted by his comrade, Cpl, J. McGregor.)
The Argus 23 August 1919
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4701994
Nothing further in The Argus to 1921.
Mentioned in this publication
Scotch Collegian December 1917
Gnr W J Mountain
W J Mountain (1906-1908), the only son of Mr W J Mountain, Mayor of Essendon,
was employed as a draftsman in the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works.
After spending about three years at Warburton, he was transferred to the head office
in Melbourne. He was a very keen tennis player. He enlisted on March 1st, 1916, and
went into camp at Broadmeadows in the same month. He sailed for the front with
the 3rd Howitzer Brigade, and underwent his training at Salisbury prior to being trans-
ferred to the Australian Field Artillery. In March of the present year he left for France,
and was killed on the 24th of August, at the age of 25.
(Courtesy of Don Mountain.)
Driver William John Mountain's memorial at Reninghelst New
Military Cemetery, Belgium. (Courtesy of Don Mountain)