William Wilkinson (Bill) Armstrong
Bill Anderson was born on the 18th of April 1882 in Red Lead Mill, Slaley, Northumberland, England and died on the 2nd of April in Sale, Victoria, Australia. He was 84 years old when he died, and his cause of death was officially stated as broncho-pneumonia and congestive heart failure. He was the the husband of Nellie Wills, and the father of Alice Armstrong.
Bill left England with his family on the 27th of May 1884 aboard the SS Gulf of Carpentaria for Australia, when he was only two years old. His parents have another child en-route to Australia, but she sadly died later that year.
After his marriage to Nellie Wills in 1912, Bill was listed on the Electoral Roll as a farmer in Longford. In 1924 they began farming in Johnsonville and in the late 1920s they moved to a farm in Kilmany.
Among documents found when Bill’s son Frank died , there was a Discharged Soliders Passbook issued by the Closer Settlement Board in Bill’s name, suggesting that Bill served in WWI. However, despite lots of searching, no record of his service has been found because Bill was still listed on the Electoral Roll as a farmer in Johnsonville. The seven year gap between the birth of two of his children, Alice and Stan, suggests that Bill may have been out of the country for a few years.
Bill’s son Frank took over the farm when Bill’s health deteriorated during WWII. After Nellie’s death in 1938, Bill married Ada Goodman in 1948, and the farm was handed down to Frank.
Bill went blind in the late 1940s and is remembered sitting in his armchair chatting about daily events with a strong accent, that many thought was Scottish.
Bill left England with his family on the 27th of May 1884 aboard the SS Gulf of Carpentaria for Australia, when he was only two years old. His parents have another child en-route to Australia, but she sadly died later that year.
After his marriage to Nellie Wills in 1912, Bill was listed on the Electoral Roll as a farmer in Longford. In 1924 they began farming in Johnsonville and in the late 1920s they moved to a farm in Kilmany.
Among documents found when Bill’s son Frank died , there was a Discharged Soliders Passbook issued by the Closer Settlement Board in Bill’s name, suggesting that Bill served in WWI. However, despite lots of searching, no record of his service has been found because Bill was still listed on the Electoral Roll as a farmer in Johnsonville. The seven year gap between the birth of two of his children, Alice and Stan, suggests that Bill may have been out of the country for a few years.
Bill’s son Frank took over the farm when Bill’s health deteriorated during WWII. After Nellie’s death in 1938, Bill married Ada Goodman in 1948, and the farm was handed down to Frank.
Bill went blind in the late 1940s and is remembered sitting in his armchair chatting about daily events with a strong accent, that many thought was Scottish.