William John Hawkins (SN 750/65A) initially enlisted as William Leach on August 28th 1914, declaring himself to be a 21 year old baker. He was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Battalion and sailed from Sydney aboard the Euripides on October 20th. Soon after arriving in Egypt, he was assessed as ‘medically unfit’ due to disease and was returned to Australia. He was discharged on April 23rd 1915, two days before the famous Gallipoli landing but re-enlisted in early April 1916 under his true name of Hawkins. He was attached to the 3rd Division Cyclist Corps and embarked once more on May 18th aboard the Demosthenes. He reached France in early October and was transferred to the 53rd Infantry Battalion. In October 1917, while on leave in England, he suffered a wound to his leg caused by barbed wire. In August 1918 he suffered a shrapnel wound to his shoulder and was evacuated to hospital in France. He rejoined his unit on September 23rd but was killed in action just a week later, on September 30th 1918. He is buried in Tincourt New British Cemetery, France.

Lucas’s Staffs Appreciation of Brave Men, the original Avenue register, records his name as William Leech.