William (Bill) Henry Briggs
Stephen LearmonthWhen William Henry Briggs was born on the18th of November 1913 in Shepparton, Victoria, his father, William Henry, was 45 and his mother, Emily Jane (née Marshallsea), was 31. James would be the middle child of a family of five. His two older siblings were both sisters, Flora and Amy, while the younger were both brothers, Rob (Bob) James and Gordon Lindsay.
Bill's paternal grandfather, James Briggs, was one of the first three settlers in the Upper Murray region, with Briggs’ gap being named after him. James also pioneered two local industries in the Cudgewa area, the first being a flour mill (in the early 1880s) and the second a dairy factory (1892) powered from the same engine source as the flour mill. He also built a portable sawmill. Bill’s uncle, Walter Clement Briggs, was one of two local men who died during service in the Boer War.
At the time of enlisting, Bill was living in Malvern, Victoria. He enlisted at Wangaratta, on the 4th of November 1939 being allocated the Army Number VX6537. Bill would rise to the rank of Lance Corporal and be assigned to the 2/8th Battalion. His brother, Bob, also enlisted (VX13859) and was taken on strength with the 2/4th Field Regiment.
After completing his basic training at the newly-established camp at Puckapunyal, Bill, along with the rest of the 2/8th Battalion, embarked on board HMT Dunera at the Port of Melbourne on the 14th of April 1940.
Arriving in the Middle East on the 18th of May 1940, Bill trained in Palestine and Egypt in preparation for the battalion’s first campaign against the Italians in eastern Libya. The 2/8th played only a small role at the capture of Bardia between the 3rd to the 5th of January 1941 but suffered the heaviest casualties of any Australian unit during the battle for Tobruk on the 21st and 22nd of January 1941, after having to attack a strong point constructed around a line of dug-in tanks. The 19th Brigade, of which the 2/8th Battalion was part, led the divisional advance onwards to Benghazi, which was reached on the 6th of February; the Italian forces surrendered the next day.
In early April 1941, Bill and his battalion were deployed to Greece. Here they fought a fierce battle with German troops at Vevi Pass in the country's north on the 11th and 12th April but, overstretched and confronting a vastly superior force, were forced to withdraw. The battalion became disorganised, lost many of its weapons and equipment, and many of its troops were separated. It played no significant role in the rest of the campaign and was evacuated from Kalamata, in two ships, on the night of the 26th of April. 199 members of the battalion were taken straight back to Egypt, while another 394 landed on Crete after their transport, "Costa Rica", was sunk. This party fought around Canea after the landing of German paratroops on the 20th of May.
On the afternoon of the 28th of May 1941, the 2/8th Battalion received orders from Brigade to move into defensive positions at Kerates, about 20 kilometres south of Esteros on the Sphakia road. It was during this withdrawal that Bill was listed as missing in action, which was later changed to missing in action, believed killed. He has no known grave.
Bill is remembered at the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, the Athens Memorial at Phaleron War Cemetery and the Corryong War Memorial. For his service, he was awarded the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939-1945 and the Australian Service Medal 1939-1945.
