William Sydney Duchesne, 1st Battalion, AIF
Australian War MemorialWilliam Sydney “Syd” Duchesne was born on 28 May 1894 in the Sydney suburb of Waverley, the eldest son of Edwin and Edith Duchesne. He attended Waverley and Manly public schools and later studied military science at the Fort Street Model School in Petersham.
In 1904, at the age of ten, Syd enlisted in a boy’s volunteer corps at Waverley. He later served for three years in a Waverley Cadet Corps and became a second lieutenant in the 39th militia infantry at Ashfield.
Duchesne applied to join the Australian Imperial Force in August 1914, almost immediately after the outbreak of the First World War, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion.
He was one of three Duchesne brothers to serve in the military. His older brother George enlisted in 1916 and served on the Western Front, while his younger brother Norman was too young to fight in the First World War; he joined the Royal Australian Navy in the post-war years.
Syd Duchesne and the 1st Battalion sailed from Sydney in October 1914 as part of the first convoy of Australians. They arrived in Egypt, where they set up camp in Mena, outside of Cairo for training.
During his time in Egypt, Duchesne played football for the 1st Battalion, and in March was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
He wrote to his family from Mena:
“I thought I had better write and tell you that my last wish will be that you all shall be proud and not grieve if I never return… If by chance my time has come to leave this world I wish not for a better death than one on the battlefield helping Englishmen keep our Empire in freedom… Mother don't worry I am enjoying myself and am happy."
It was 20-year-old Syd’s last letter home.
In early April, the 1st Battalion sailed to the Greek island of Lemnos, where Australian forces were gathering for the major attack on Ottoman forces in the Dardanelles on Gallipoli.
Syd’s battalion was part of the third waves of Australian troops to go ashore on 25 April 1915, part of over 20,000 Anzac troops in the first contingent.
They landed under heavy fire at 6am without loss. But later in the morning, they were ordered to move into the firing line and attack Ottoman forces along a series of steep gullies known as Baby 700. They charged with bayonets and suffered terrible casualties.
D Company, of which Duchesne was part, landed with six officers and 213 other ranks. Five days later, they numbered one officer and 88 other ranks.
Duchesne was killed during this chaotic and bloody period.
He was 20 years old.
The exact cause and place of his death was never established. After the fighting, a New Zealand serviceman found Syd’s identity disc at Baby 700 and returned it to his family.
Today Syd Duchesne is commemorated in the Baby 700 Cemetery on Gallipoli.
Syd's brother George fought on the Western Front with the 47th battalion and was killed at Pozieres on 7 August 1916.
David Sutton, Historian, Military History Section
- Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/AWM2020.1.1.23
