World War 1, South-West Asia, Turkey, Gallipoli, 810 MASON, 10 Light Horse, 1915

William ‘Bill’ Mason was born at Mortigallup, Western Australia on 22 December 1880. He was the fifth of eight children born to an Aboriginal woman Fanny Harris and a Cambridge-educated shepherd William Bonworth Mason, who were married in 1872. Bill and his siblings were raised on Mollialup Station in the Mortigallup area which their father leased from his employer - the Hassell family.
Between 1908 and 1912, Bill acquired 1,835 acres in the Plantagenet area while residing in nearby Tenterden. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Albany on 31 December 1914. On 11 February he was appointed to the 3rd Reinforcements of 10th Australian Light Horse Regiment at Guildford. He departed Fremantle on the HMAT Itonus A50 on 22 February. Also on board was fellow Western Australian, Lieutenant Hugo Throssell.
Bill was at Gallipoli for two days when, due to the poor conditions he was evacuated to Heliopolis in Egypt where he remained for seven weeks. On 1 August, Bill returned to Gallipoli to re-join his unit participating in the assault on Walker’s Ridge, On 20 September, Bill was hospitalised with influenza, and on being discharged was involved in the assault on Hill 60. On 23 October, as the weather deteriorated, Bill again contracted influenza and was evacuated the following day to the Greek island of Lemnos. Two days later he was transferred to Egypt for the first of numerous hospitalisations.
His medical case sheet reads: ‘looks as though he has had a rough time – only fit for work in base stores. Needs building up.. When not in hospital he continued to serve at the Australian Depot Stores until he embarked on the HMAT Wiltshire A18 at Port Said on 30 August 1918. On 24 September, Bill disembarked at Fremantle and on 10 October 1918, was discharged from the AIF. Bill returned to his property which he held until September 1923 when the Agricultural Bank repossessed them.