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William Henry Dudley
23rd November 1877 - 23rd August 1923
William Henry DUDLEY, known as Bill, was
born in Columbula, Condamine, Queensland
on 23 Nov 1877. William was the 3rd
of the
10 children born to James Robert
and Catherine DUDLEY.
In 1897 William Henry DUDLEY married
Elizabeth Ann KENDALL in Cunnamulla
Queensland. They lived for a short
period with his mother Catherine DUDLEY
in Chinchilla, before relocating back to
Cunnamulla. Elizabeth Ann KENDALL had a
son, Alfred Clarence, born before her
marriage to William, who was not the
father. William Henry and Elizabeth Ann
DUDLEY had ten children; however 4 males
and 2 females
died in infancy.
William was a tall, spare man of over
6ft, with dark hair and dark complexion,
with high cheek bones. He was bald in
his later years. He was a superb
horseman, his occupations are listed as
drover and fencer. He could not read or
write until he taught himself. He could
never write very well, but was a
competent reader; he was helped in his
studies by the wife of the station owner
or manager who supplied him with books.
William was said to be very ambitious,
as was his sister
Elena
(Aunty Nan).
When William was born, so the family
legend goes, his grandparents, James and
Martha DUDLEY, wanted the boy sent over
to them in America to be reared and
educated, but his parents, James Robert
and Catherine DUDLEY would not allow it.
It was said that William was always
bitter about this in later life.
William enlisted in the Army in August
1915, at the age of 37, leaving his wife
Elizabeth at home with the children,
including the 5 month old Philip Henry
DUDLEY.
3731 Private William Henry DUDLEY, was
first allocated to the 9th
Battalion AIF, but soon after was
re-allocated to the 49th
Battalion and sent to France. He was
involved in the battle of Messines on 7th
June 1917 and was wounded in the chest
and shoulder by shrapnel on Hill 60.
The details surrounding William's
wounding, is that he was on lookout
duties, however when it came time for
him to be relieved; he was asked to wait
on while his mate finished his billy of
tea. Sticking his head out of the trench
to have a look, he was hit in the chest
by shrapnel, some of which could never
be removed. Shortly after this the
troops withdrew, leaving the casualties
behind. When the medics came through a
short time later, one apparently turned
William over and said, "Looks like this
one's dead." William opened his eyes and
said, "Fair go, mate, I've got a wife
and children at home."
Following this he was evacuated to a
medical clearing station and then spent
some months in hospital in France. He
was then further evacuated to Bristol
England where he met the Nurse. It's
said that she agreed to come to
Australia to marry him. He returned to
Australia in January 1918 and was
discharged from the Army in April of the
same year. After he was sent home, his
wife Elizabeth intercepted some letters
from the nurse and promptly settled
matters.
After the war William had a fencing
business, but could not work very much
because of his wounds. It is said he was
not able to lift his left arm above the
shoulder. He was offered a Government
pension of five shillings a week, which
he refused in disgust.
Sometime in
1923 William
was admitted to the Isisford hospital,
suffering from blood poisoning as a
result of an infected liver. He was to
die in agony from this on 23rd
August 1923 and is buried in an unmarked
grave in the Isisford cemetery.
Whilst he was in hospital, his wife
Elizabeth visited him every day, going
home each day to prepare the children's
lunch. One morning William told her of a
dream he had had the night before. "I
dreamed you went home to feed the kids,
Liz," he said "and when you came back, I
was dead."
She went home as usual to get the
lunch, and when she devotedly went back
to the hospital, William was DEAD.
Elizabeth Ann DUDLEY was a capable
woman, hard working and much admired by
everyone who knew her. When her husband
William Henry DUDLEY was serving
overseas in the Army, she worked in her
father's pub as a laundress to help
support the family. She was tall and
pretty, quite stout in later years and
always wore white starched dresses,
petticoats and aprons, all made by hand.
She was a skilled needlewoman especially
crochet, making curtains, laces and
bedspreads. When she died in Brisbane,
in 1944 at the age of 65 from a stroke,
she had a set of perfect teeth. She is
buried in the Toowong Cemetery.
Elizabeth Anne DUDLEY's parents were
William Ashford KENDALL and Elizabeth
Anne DODD. They were of Scottish origins
and immigrated to Australia in the
1800's, they were the owners of
Campbell's Pub in Cunnamulla. There were
four other children, William, Jenny,
Bella and another daughter who married a
German named VON SINDEN.
After William KENDALL died, Elizabeth
Ann DUDLEY married William Patrick
BACKOUS at Blackall in 1942 when she was
62. They had a son who had downs
syndrome. For some reason, mother and
daughters became estranged in later
years, refusing to acknowledge each
other when meeting in the street.
William
Patrick BACKOUS was a dark haired
bespeckled man with a moustache. He was
a shearers' cook, who was highly
respected by the family. They lived in
Toowoomba where Elizabeth Ann BACKOUS
(DUDLEY nee KENDALL) became a covert to
Catholicism. William Patrick BACKOUS
died in Toowoomba in June 1943.
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