William Dunstan, VC (2 March 1895 – 8 March 1957) was 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 members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces.

Biography

Dunstan was born on 8 March 1895. He was 20 years old and a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in the 7th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force 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 ...

when he was awarded the VC for his actions on 9 August 1915, during the Battle of Lone Pine on

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

, Turkey. During the action Turkish forces had made a determined counter-attack on the centre of the newly captured trench held by a lieutenant,

Frederick Harold Tubb Major Frederick Harold Tubb, VC (28 November 1881 – 20 September 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Lif ...

, two corporals ( Alexander Stewart Burton and Corporal Dunstan), and a few men. The Turkish blew in the sand-bag barricade, leaving only a foot standing, but Tubb, Burton and Dunstan repelled them and rebuilt the barricade. Twice more the Turkish blew in the barricade and on each occasion they were repelled and the barricade rebuilt. Dunstan was blind for almost a year after Lone Pine. He later achieved the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. Before the war, Dunstan had been a messenger boy in a draper's shop. After the war he worked for the Repatriation Department in Melbourne and in 1921 joined the staff of ''

The Herald and Weekly Times The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd (HWT) is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by News Pty Ltd, which as News Ltd, purchased the HWT in 1987. Newspapers The HWT's newspaper interests date ba ...

'' as an accountant. He rose to become its general manager. He died on 2 March 1957. His 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 ...

. In 1995 a Memorial to Dunstan was erected in Sturt St,

Ballarat, Victoria Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vic ...

, Australia. The "Dunstan VC Club" at

Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Vi ...

is named in his honour. He was survived by his wife, Marjorie, and three children, William "Bill" Dunstan, Helen McIntosh and the prominent journalist and writer

Keith Dunstan John Keith Dunstan (3 February 1925 – 11 September 2013), known as Keith Dunstan, was an Australian journalist and author. He was a prolific writer and the author of more than 25 books. Early life Dunstan was born in Malvern East, Victoria, ...

Medals

Dunstan was awarded: *

* 1914–15 Star *

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

* Victory Medal with oakleaf ( MID) *

George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to t ...

* Elizabeth II Coronation MedalREL/03274.006 – Elizabeth II Coronation Medal : W Dunstan, VC
Australian War Memorial

References

External links

*R. P. Serle

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 8, Melbourne University Press, 1981, pp 381–382. *
William Dunstan, VC, photo, brief details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunstan, William 1895 births 1957 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (Australia) Australian Army officers Australian Gallipoli campaign recipients of the Victoria Cross Australian newspaper publishers (people) Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Journalists from Melbourne People from Ballarat