A sleeper cutter, soldier, rabbit trapper, orchardist and restauranteur, William Evans Gorey lived an interesting and varied life. Unlike his brothers, he stayed put for most of his life (war years excluded) in the Whroo-Shepparton areas before retiring to Carrum.

He was born at Corop on January 12, 1882.

According to his daughter Evelyn, Bill worked early in life as a sleeper cutter. She recalls him saying that he first set foot in Shepparton in 1899, aged 17. He must have liked the town, which would have been quite a busy contrast to the farm at Whroo. He returned to Shepparton to live in 1910 and worked at Ardmona.

Bill was a keen sportsman, and at Whroo is known to have participated in cycling. He is also probably the Gorey referred to in a Murchison Advertiser report from October 16, 1903 as being considered for selection in the Whroo cricket team.

He helped organise local sporting events and was a keen participant. On November 27, 1903 the Murchison Advertiser reported:

"A meeting was held at Mr J. Cracknell's hotel on Saturday evening last for the purpose of considering the advisability of holding a sports meeting on Boxing Day. There was a fair attendance. Mr Thomas Donovan was voted to the chair and explained the objects of the meeting. It was unanimously decided to hold a meeting and the following were elected a committee: Messrs Donovan, Petrie, J. Cracknell, Goodsir, T. Birnie, W. Campbell, H. Davis, J. Neilsen, G. Davis, Hageman, S. Dodd, W. Birnie, W. Gorey, F. Hutchison and J. Birnie.

"It was resolved to charge one shilling admission to the ground. A lengthy and varied program was drawn up and approved of and the meeting adjourned with the usual vote of thanks to the chair."

Bill competed in heats of the half-mile and one-mile bicycle races, finishing third in each, but missing the final. He also competed in the Rushworth Fire Brigade Sports on New Year's Day, 1904, riding off a handicap of 50 yards in the half-mile race and 120 yards in the mile.

The mines at Whroo petered out about 1908 and the Gorey family shifted to Shepparton soon after.

Bill enlisted at Shepparton to serve in the First World War on July 15, 1915 aged 33 years and six months. He gave his father's name as next of kin. Bill was described as being a Roman Catholic, 5ft 5in tall, 128lb in weight, with a swarthy complexion, grey eyes and black hair. He had vaccination marks on his left arm.

Bill served with the 21st Battalion in the Middle East and France. He was promoted to Lance Corporal on October 2, 1916 and Corporal on May 1, 1917. Just two days later he received gunshot wounds to the face and was admitted to the 12th General Hospital at Rouen on May 4. He was transferred aboard the HS Western Australia to England where he was treated at the Richmond Military Hospital. He was discharged for furlough on June 6 to report back for duty on June 21.

His active service from that time included periods at the front and training programs. He attended bombing school and qualified as an instructor from gas school. Bill returned to France on April 4, 1918 after several months in England. He rejoined his battalion in the field on April 18. He kept a diary which today provides a fascinating insight. In July and August he took part in a major offensive against the Germans which saw the Allies cross the Somme and seal victory.

On July 4 the diary records heavy shelling producing a deafening noise, but being a "beautiful sight".

"After dwelling a few minutes we go to do our job, by this time the tanks are in sight which added to the roar; this being our first time to have tanks accompanying us and they proved a great assistance. Our objective was gained an hour after starting, getting a large number of prisoners."

Bill wrote that "Fritz" retaliated, with aeroplanes being used to identify the Australians' position. "We had to put up with a good deal of shell fire until relieved on the night of the 6th by the 19th Battalion when we moved back to reserve trenches about six kilos back for a short rest."

On July 8 Bill was sent in charge of a party of 20 men on fatigue duty building trenches close to a village. During this time they were shelled frequently with gas and sustained "quite a number" of casualties.

The diary describes August 8 as "our day". He wrote that heavy artillery, tanks and aeroplanes were all part of a major assault and "away we go after Fritz". On August 18 the men had advanced more than 12km and regained trenches lost in 1914. By August 20 the Germans were in rapid retreat. Bill's unit rested for a few days in huts abandoned by the enemy before crossing the Somme by a temporary footbridge on August 31.

Bill then had a few weeks' rest, during which time he caught up with his brother Jim, sadly for the last time. Together they inspected a "great 15 inch gun" and participated in divisional sports. Bill welcomed the Armistice on November 11 as "the great day we have been waiting for".

Bill's grandson, Robert Gorey, has cross-referenced Bill's military file with official records of the 21st Battalion. The military file records when a soldier was on leave or injured. By comparing these dates with the battalion history it's possible to establish that Bill fought in some of the bloodiest and most influential battles on the Western Front.

These include Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Bullecourt, Villers Bretonneux, Hamel and Mont St Quentin.

It's difficult for most people to comprehend the horror that First World War soldiers endured.

The history of the 21st Battalion, The Red and Black Diamond, by N.C. Smith gives some insight. There is a graphic diary passage after the battle of Pozieres attributed to soldier Leo Hine.

There is no sleep and little movement except for the endless procession of wounded. The dead lie in the trench in various attitudes. Here is one sitting with his back in a niche in the wall, a book on his knees. There is no wound. He was killed by concussion a week ago and still he sits there rotting away under our eyes.

Again, here are the remains of a man with his head torn off; another with his entrails hanging out. Half buried in the wall of the trench are the mangled bodies of men, both Australian and German, and every shell that drops unearths some fresh horror and blows to atoms the bodies of men a week dead. The stench is something awful.

All the time there is the drawn-out whine and nerve-shattering crash of the shells. Sometimes they come singly along the trench, and sometimes they come in a perfect tornado. To the man sitting in the trench it is Hell. He sees this one blown to pieces, that one buried, another shockingly mutilated. One of the most pitiable of sights is that of a man suffering from shell shock, his nerves shattered, and in some cases, his reason destroyed. He crouches on the ground, shaking like a leaf, and at the sound of an approaching shell he whimpers like a frightened child.

And so it goes on, day in and day out; the hellish din, the choking gas shells, the stench of the dead, and the expectation of death by the next shell. Our boys endured four days and four nights of it; not a wink of sleep, not an hour's respite from the shells, and above all, not a chance to hit back.

The victory at Villers Bretonneux in July 1918 is famous in Australian military history. To this day, French school children in the village honor Anzac Day in recognition of their town being liberated. Bill Gorey was serving with the 21st Battalion during this battle.

The battalion's success at Mont St Quentin on September 1, 1918 won worldwide attention. It was regarded as a turning point in the later stages of the war.

The Germans had been retreating for several days, but chose to make a stand at Mont St Quentin. The German defenders were later found to be hand-picked troops who fought to the death. The 21st Battalion had 23 men killed and 79 wounded. Sergeant Albert Lowerson, from Myrtleford, was awarded the Victoria Cross "for a series of gallant performances". He later became a rallying point for battalion reunions in North East Victoria, even after his death in 1945.

Bill Gorey completed his service in Britain. His exemplary record was only tarnished when charged as being absent without leave. His service papers state that he was absent from March 3 "until placed under open arrest by military police at Glasgow" on April 4. He was held under charge for four days before being severely reprimanded by Major W.V. Jardine and docked 39 days' pay. Bill departed for Australia aboard the HT Runic on April 27, 1919 and disembarked on June 6. He was formally discharged on August 2.

Before this time however, Bill was back home in Shepparton, where according to the Shepparton News (Monday, July 14, 1919) an "enthusiastic gathering" of Grahamvale residents welcomed their heroes. The local school was filled to capacity for a party in honor of Bill, his brother Charles and five other returned servicemen. There were speeches and musical entertainment including the "singing of Home Sweet Home by seven young ladies". It's likely that Bill's parents and sister Mary Tennant were in attendance.

One wonders what Bill and Charles must have thought of the well meaning but misplaced patriotism. One speaker was reported as saying: "Germany, the country which had set out to enslave the world, was now left without a friend, and in the depth of humiliation, and to God was due the thanks of our great victory".

There were also offers of support for the men if they wished to take up land in the vicinity. Mr Rae, on behalf of the Grahamvale people, said it was "the duty of the people of the place to look after the interests of the soldiers" who he said had been "considerably knocked about, and if people could extend a helping hand to them it would assist greatly in restoring them to their old selves".

One war story not on the official records was told by a comrade of Bill's to his wife Jemima at an Anzac Day reunion some years later. He told her that following the demise of an officer, Bill led the troops into battle because the sergeant had "turned yellow". As a corporal, Bill was held in high regard by his fellow soldiers.

Shortly after his return Bill successfully acquired a Soldier Settler block at Lemnos. He was one of that area's original settlers. He is referred to in a book written for the Lemnos school's golden jubilee in 1987 by Elsie Brady. His name appears on a 1924 petition to the Education Department seeking the establishment of a local school.

The petition says, in part: "As you will notice, the number of children from five to 14 years of age is 35 and of these approximately 14 are aged from five to eight years. There are also 32 children under five years of age. We consider it undesirable that such a large number of very young children should have to travel from two to three and a half miles by road to the present nearest schools at Pine Lodge and Grahamvale. The three-mile radius system becomes a hardship when applied to closer settlement areas."

The Shepparton News reported on August 24, 1925 that the petition had been successful. The school opened in the Baptist Church on November 9, 1925 and soon after had its own site.

All of Bill and Jemima's children attended the school and their photographs appear in the golden jubilee book. Evelyn Smith (second daughter) recalls that life was tough for her father, who had to clear the block he had been granted, fence the property and build a house.

He had wanted his mother Sophia, of whom he was very fond, to live in the house but unfortunately she died just before it was completed in 1923.

In "Lemnos Looks Back" Mrs E.P. Hill is quoted as describing the lifestyle of soldier settlers: "These orchard blocks 22 to 30 acres, unfenced and not planted, were then allotted by the Soldier Settlement Commission and Closer Settlement Board to returned soldiers, some of them bachelors, some with brides from England and some of them Englishmen who had enlisted in Victoria.

"You will realise the difficulties they had, building homes, fencing their blocks, planting and maintaining their orchards until they came into bearing, but equipment had to be bought and families fed until the orchards became productive.

"The men had to take jobs on established orchards in the older Grahamvale district and look after their own orchards mornings, evenings and at the weekends. Some of the new settlers also milked cows to add to their income during the early years before their orchards came into full production."

In Bill's case he worked as a rabbit trapper while waiting for his peach, pear, plum and apricot trees to bear fruit. "He had a double kit of rabbit traps; that's how he used to feed us," Evelyn said. There were 60 traps in each kit. The trapper had to go on rounds, clearing the traps, re-setting them, skinning and gutting the rabbits for sale.

Bill married Jemima Fraser McPherson on April 18, 1925. Their first child Doreen had already been born and Jemima's mother disapproved strongly of the union. Despite the age difference between them, they enjoyed a mostly happy marriage and had seven children.

Due to Bill's declining health (thought to be arthritis, but later diagnosed as kidney stones), he was forced to sell the farm to clear debts in 1942. Bill had spent six months in hospital at one stage, during which time neighbors helped with essential farm chores such as fencing, fertilising and pruning.

From 1942 to 1948 Bill and Jemima operated the Central Dining Rooms in Wyndham Street. It was a family affair, with the residence being upstairs. The restaurant provided meals for bus travellers heading to or from Benalla, Bendigo and Echuca. Jemima did most of the cooking, and according to Evelyn, Bill did not enjoy this period of his life, yearning instead for the countryside.

The couple retired to Carrum where Bill built chicken sheds along the back fence of a large block and raised poultry. He regularly used to top the Dandenong market with the heaviest cockerel.

His health deteriorated and there were disagreements with Jemima. Bill and his wife were living apart when he died at Foster on June 6, 1961. Bill was living with his son Bill. He was buried at Foster after a Church of England service.