William Matthew Currey, VC (19 September 1895 – 30 April 1948) was a politician and an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. He received the award for his actions during the

Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin The Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin was a battle on the Western Front during World War I. As part of the Allied Hundred Days Offensive on the Western Front in the late summer of 1918, the Australian Corps crossed the Somme River on the night of 31 ...

in September 1918, while serving with Australian Imperial Force on the Western Front during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, Currey worked as a labourer and railway worker before entering the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the Labor Party representative for the seat of

Kogarah Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area. Loca ...

, which he held between 1941 and his death in 1948.

Early life

Born in

Wallsend, New South Wales Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area. Origins The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of N ...

, on 19 September 1895, Currey was the son of a miner, William Robert Currey and Mary Ellen Lang. After attending Dudley and Plattsburg public schools, he was employed as a wireworker in

Leichhardt Leichhardt may refer to: * Division of Leichhardt, electoral District for the Australian House of Representatives * Leichhardt Highway, a highway of Queensland, Australia * Leichhardt Way, an Australian road route * Leichhardt, New South Wales, inn ...

. In October 1916, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, volunteering for service overseas during the

, having attempted unsuccessfully several times before, being rejected as under-aged. After being accepted, Currey was eventually sent to the Western Front in Europe, where he initially served the 4th Light Trench Mortar Battery, before being posted in July 1917 to the 53rd Battalion – an infantry battalion that had been recruited primarily from New South Wales – as a reinforcement. In late 1917, Currey fought with the battalion during the

Battle of Polygon Wood The Battle of Polygon Wood took place from 26 September to 3 October 1917, during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, in the area from the Menin road to Polygon Wood a ...

Victoria Cross

In September 1918, during the final Allied offensive of the war – the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

– Currey was one of eight Australians awarded the

for their actions during the

. On 1 September 1918 in the attack on Péronne,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Currey, as a 22-year-old

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the 53rd Battalion, rushed forward under heavy machine-gun fire and captured single-handed a 77-mm field gun which had been holding up the advance, killing all the crew. Later, when the advance was checked by an enemy strong-point he crept round the flank and engaged the post with a Lewis gun, then rushed it, causing many casualties. Subsequently he volunteered to carry orders for withdrawal to an isolated company, bringing back valuable information, doing so under heavy fire and despite being gassed. The citation published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' of 14 December 1918 concluded that his behaviour was a "striking example of coolness, determination and utter disregard of danger... and his gallant work contributed largely to the success of the operation." The Australian official war historian,

Charles Bean Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean (18 November 1879 – 30 August 1968), usually identified as C. E. W. Bean, was Australia's official war correspondent, subsequently its official war historian, who wrote six volumes and edited the remaining six of ...

, described the final act of Currey's heroism thusly: "At 3 am when efforts to reach (a Lt Waite in an advanced position) having failed Private Currey volunteered to make his third attempt and going out far into the disputed front he stood up and called with all his lung power. "Waitsy! Get in." The Germans turned on him every weapon they had; he was gassed and his respirator was shot through. But Waite had heard him and returned."

Later life

Currey was discharged from the AIF in 1919, and took up employment as a storeman, working for the Railways Department in New South Wales, remaining in the role until 1941. On 10 April 1920, he married Emmie Davies at St Saviour's Anglican Church, in Punchbowl, and the couple later had two daughters together. Currey briefly returned to the military twice: in 1930–32 he served in the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

in the 45th Battalion, and then during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

Australian Instructional Corps The Australian Instructional Corps (AIC) was a corps of the Australian Army that existed between 1921 and 1955. Tasked with providing training to soldiers serving in Australia's part-time military force, the corps consisted of Permanent force war ...

as a sergeant in a training role between 1940 and 1941 before being discharged. In 1941, he ceased working for the Railways, and successfully stood for election as the Labor Party member for

in the

. He was the only Victoria Cross recipient to sit in the New South Wales parliament and was re-elected twice: in 1944 and 1947. In late April 1948, while in parliament, he collapsed and three days later, on 30 April 1948, he died at

Bexley, New South Wales Bexley is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bexley is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Bayside Council and is part of the St George area. His ...

, from coronary-vascular disease. His funeral was held at St Stephen's Presbyterian church in Macquarie Street, Sydney, after which he was cremated and his ashes were interred at Woronora Cemetery.

Remembrances

Currey's Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia. Following a public appeal in 1956 a plaque was erected in memory of Currey in the Speakers Square within the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

complex. During renovations in the 1970s the plaque was put into storage for safekeeping and was only rediscovered and restored to its place in 2008. In 1976, the ''Jeffries and Currey Memorial Library'' was opened by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

, Sir Roden Cutler, at Dudley Public School to honour two of the school's pupils who were decorated with the Victoria Cross during the First World War:

Clarence Jeffries Clarence Smith Jeffries, VC (26 October 1894 – 12 October 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Common ...

and William Currey. The pair are also commemorated by the ''Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall'' located in the grounds of Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, which was unveiled in an official ceremony on 16 April 2000.

References

External links

* *
Recommendation for VC
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– see als
here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Currey, William Matthew Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross 1895 births 1948 deaths Australian Army soldiers Military personnel from New South Wales Australian Army personnel of World War II Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Burials at Woronora Memorial Park