Portrait of 355A Private William Edward (Billy) Sing DCM, 31st Battalion, of Clermont, Qld, who ...

Portrait of 355A Private William Edward (Billy) Sing DCM, 31st Battalion, of Clermont, Qld, who enlisted on 26 October 1914 and returned to Australia on 21 July 1918. While serving with the 5th Light Horse Regiment on Gallipoli, Trooper Sing acquired notoriety as an accurate sniper, shooting over 150 Turkish soldiers, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Trooper Sing sniped from a position at Chatham's Post, his tally stated as 150 confirmed, but a higher informal estimate puts his tally at 201. The discrepancy can be accounted for by the way such hits were recorded. On 23 October 1915, General Birdwood issued an order containing his compliments on Trooper Sing's performance accounting for the 201 Turks. Warfare in Europe differed from Gallipoli, with the heavy use of artillery, opportunites for sniping were not as great. Private Sing was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre in early 1918, probably for his role in leading a patrol eliminating some German snipers at Polygon Wood in September 1917. Over his period of service he contracted influenza, rheumatism, mumps, was shot on two occasions, sustained shrapnel wounds to both legs and his back and was gassed, resulting in him spending time in and out of hospitals and eventually causing his medical discharge.