William C. H. Ecclestone

Born in the full flush of Marvellous Melbourne

William Charles Henry Ecclestone, the grandfather of the author of this site, was born on the 20th of May 1882, in a house in Rowena Parade in Richmond, near the site of his grandfather's brickmaking pits. His parents were William Charles Ecclestone (a carpenter) and Emily Stephens (born in 1862). A sister, Nellie Constance, was born in 1888.

At that moment in time Melbourne was in the early throes of the massive era of expansion and speculation that was known as Marvellous Melbourne. The city surged to over one million people with tramlines and trainlines snaking out into the bush and housing developments following them.

This period came to a wrenching end around 1890 when the Barings Crisis shrunk credit across the Empire and the over extended banks based in Melbourne collapsed in a house of cards. The economy was devastated and Melbourne ground to a halt with its population falling as residents moved interstate to escape the blight.

At this time, WCH's grandmother, Mary, and several of her children decamped to Perth. WCH later related that his own parents moved him and his sister between a variety of houses as they were allowed to live in them rent-free as the owners (frequently foreclosing banks) did not want them to sit empty.

WCH became a carpenter like his father.

In World War One

William C. H. Ecclestone enlisted, at the age of 33, as a private in the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force on the 27th of July 1915. He joined the 7/23rd Battalion but served in the 59th Infantry Battalion of the 15th Infantry Brigade. After a brief training period, he was despatched on the troopship Hororata and sailed from Melbourne on the 27 September 1915, landing at Fremantle on the 5th of October 1915 and then sailing to Suez.

In Fremantle harbour a small boat appeared waving a flag greeting the Ecclestone on his way. The greeters remained a mystery until the 1980’s when we discovered that half of the Victorian Ecclestone’s had relocated themselves to Western Australia in the 1890’s and it was probably them who turned out that day.

The Hororata

This ship was requisitioned from the New Zealand Shpping Company and returned to normal life on the 11th of September 1917. It sailed with its first troop movement (6th Infantry Battalion) from Melbourne on the 18th of October 1914. Launched in December 1913, it had 9365 tons (displacing 11,243 tons) and a speed of 14 knots. It later changed name to the Waroonga and was torpedoed on April 5th 1943, while sailing in an Atlantic Convoy.

He saw service in the Sinai area. The 15th Infantry Brigade then moved to the Western Front, where it saw action at Fromelles, Bullecourt, the Hindenburg Line, Polygon Wood, Villers Bretonneux, Morlancourt, Hamel, Amiens and Peronne. WCH was hit by shrapnel, gassed and shellshocked. He was sent back to England for recuperation on at least one occasion. He was discharged on the 17th of December 1919 as medically unfit. He had been in service 1605 days, of which 1369 days were overseas.

The Immediate Aftermath

WCH being a carpenter was in strong demand in the wake of the war, as many passenger liners that had been requisitioned were returned to civilian service. These ships needed extensive work to refit their passenger cabins and public rooms and much of this work was done on Tyneside. At the time WCH lived at Ada Street in South Shields.

On the 1st of March 1919, he married Lilly Wall (nee Cottle) at the registry office in South Shields and an instant family was formed as she had her son John James Wall (known as Bill) from her previous marriage. In 1920, they sailed for Melbourne on the White Star liner, Zealandic.

The Zealandic

The RMS Zealandic was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast and launched on the 29th of June 1911. It was delivered to the White Star Line on the 12 October 1911 and sailed on its maiden voyage on the 30th of October 1911 (Liverpool to Wellington run). The ship had gross registered tonnage of 10,898 and measured 500 ft by 63 ft. It was twin screw with a speed of 13 knots. It carried 6 first class passengers and 1,000 steerage. In June 1926, it was chartered to the Aberdeen Line and renamed Mamilius and made the London to Australia run. In 1932, it was sold to the Shaw Savill Line and was renamed Mamaric. In 1939, it was sold to the British Admiralty and rebuilt as an imitation of the aircraft carrier Hermes, to act as a decoy. On June 4th, 1941, it ran ashore off Cromer, Norfolk during a German air raid and became a total loss.

Post-War Life

WCH returned to his career as a carpenter as the building trades in Melbourne finally recovered from their multi-decade slump. Their son, William Charles (known as Harry) was born on the 3rd of March 1922. Their second son, Edward (the father of this site's author) was born of the 9th of October 1923.

Life prospered in the 1920s with the family living on Gladstone Avenue in Northcote and they accumulated the status symbols of the age, in the form of a car and a piano. WCH's parents lived on Beaver Street in Northcote, the next street parallel to Gladstone Avenue. William Ecclestone died in 1922 and his widow, Emily, continued living on Beaver Street until her death in 1945. Relations were not good between the two households with, seemingly, Emily not approving of the new wife of WCH and conversely the two children were not allowed to see their grandmother. WCH used to wander around the block to see his mother every night after dinner.

During the Depression years of the 1930s the family was hit hard and had to divest its prized possessions and WCH went to work on the government infrastructure projects in the countryside known as the Susso.

In the Second World War, WCH volunteered to work as a munitions worker at the vast government owned plant in Maribyrnong.

In the 1950s, the father and his three sons constructed a new house at 33 Cameron Street in Regent and the family moved to this new residence.

WCH was not a very wordy man and his war experiences left him emotionally scarred and he did not speak of them. He died on the 20th of October 1958. After his death Lily remained living in the Cameron Street house until her own death in 1970.