William Henry Comper was born in Gower Street, St Pancras, London, the son of William Dossetter Comper and Emma Comper. He was a schoolteacher, very likely at the small public school at Limpinwood, on the Tweed River above Murwillumbah, where he lived, kept horses and played the violin.

On 1 November 1915 he made his will, leaving bequests to his two sisters in New Zealand and to his fiancee, Victoria Bell of Chillingham, and directing that any of his books his executor did not want should go to the Limpinwood School. Two days later, on 3 November 1915, he enlisted at Brisbane. He was 26, and had previously been rejected as under the physical standard.

Allotted to A Company of the 42nd Battalion, he embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT A30 Borda on 5 June 1916 as a sergeant, reaching England in July; the battalion crossed to France that November.

He was wounded by gunshot in both arms on 11 February 1917 and evacuated to England, rejoining his battalion in the field on 1 May. He was promoted company sergeant major in January 1917 and commissioned second lieutenant on 26 June.

He was killed on 4 October 1917, the day of the Battle of Broodseinde, during the battalion's attack at Zonnebeke. Wounded by shell fire, he took refuge in a shell hole where his batman began to dress his wounds; a second shell killed them both. He has no known grave.

He was 28. Both his parents were already dead; his next of kin was his sister, Mrs Alice Hall, of Havelock North, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.