William Averkoff
Vassily Sergeevich Averkoff, known as William George Averkoff, was born in Vladivostock, Russia, in 1896 or 1898. In 1909 the Averkoff family, including 12-year-old William and his six younger siblings, emigrated to Australia, settling in the Innisfail area of North Queensland. Working as a bookbinder, William financially supported his family after his father died in an accident in 1915.
William enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in March 1916. His service record states that he was 19 when he enlisted, but his relatives believe that he increased his age on the form, and that he was actually only 18. After a period of training in Townsville, William left Australia with a reinforcement group for the newly raised 47th Battalion in August 1916, bound for the training camps in England.
After several months in England, William travelled to France in early 1917, and joined his battalion at Mametz, north of the Somme River. The men of the 47th Battalion endured one of the coldest winters in living memory, before fighting in a major battle at Bullecourt in April 1917.
By June, the battalion had moved to Belgium where they took part in the attacks on German lines near Ypres. Following a week-long artillery bombardment, and the detonation of a million pounds of explosives dug into mines underneath the German lines, the initial objectives were taken with relative ease. On 7 June, the 47th Battalion joined other Australian and British units, continuing the push forward to capture German-held high ground near Messines. They faced a powerful German counter attack during their advance, and George was killed. He was one of approximately 6,800 Australian casualties from this battle.
George was buried at the Messines Ridge British Cemetery, where his remains lie today. His mother, Annie, was notified of her son’s death, and was sent his belongings, including letters, cards, a razor, buttons, and a badge. Annie was in a difficult situation: not only was she mourning the loss of her husband and her son, she had six children to raise. She was granted a small war pension, but had to work several jobs to support her family. Annie remarried in 1922.
During the Second World War, William’s three younger brothers, George, Frederick, and Edward volunteered to serve in the Second AIF. George served in the tank corps in the Middle East, Fred served with the Volunteer Defence Corps in Australia, and Eddie served as a nursing and medical orderly in the Royal Australian Air Force. All three brothers survived the war.