More about William G. Anderson

William has no known grave but is remembered on the Arras Memorial. For reasons unknown this man is not listed on the original Dundee Roll of Honour.

William G. Anderson  CZ/1859 Anson Battalion

L/S. William G. Anderson, Anson Bn, R.N.D., 25 Hill Street, killed, was prior to joining up was employed with Mr J. Howe, Fairmuir, Bobbin Works.

Dundee People’s Journal 27^th April 1918

William G Anderson was the son of Mrs Elizabeth Anderson, 25 Hill Street , Dundee and had been employed at the Fairmuir Bobbin Works as a sawyer. He volunteered to join the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve onboard HMS Unicorn in Dundee in October 1914 for service in the Royal Naval Division. After initial Naval Training at the Crystal Palace in South London he was sent to Blandford Camp in Dorset for advanced military training. On completion he joined the Benbow Battalion which was training at the camp in preparation for service at Gallipoli. The Battalion arrived there in late May 1915 and went into action almost immediately. The Royal Naval Division suffered very heavy losses during the Third Battle of Kithira on 4 June and, as a result, the Benbow Battalion was disbanded and the men sent to other units. William Anderson joined the Anson Battalion and served through the campaign although he was hospitalised on several occasions. In May 1916 the RND began to transfer to the Western Front in France and William Anderson would have taken part in the fighting on the Somme in 1916, at Miraumont, Gavrelle, Passchendaele and Welsh Ridge in 1917. He was killed in action during the last German assault in March 1918 and his body was not recovered. William Anderson is commemorated on the Arras Memorial to the Missing in Northern France. In the Dundee City Roll of Honour he is listed as a Leading Seaman.