On the 11 January 1916 Shirley joined the Australian Imperial Force . He enlisted at Casula and served as a private in the 13th Battalion in the trench warfare on the Western Front in France at Pozieres , in August and September . His unit embarked from Sydney , on board HMAT A46 '' Clan Macgillivray '' on May 1916 . On 11 April , 1917 his battalion was involved in the first battle of Bullecourt . Three days later he was evacuated to Rouen suffering from debility , and on 25 April he was shipped to a hospital in London where he developed pleurisy caused by gassing during the war . The following month he was assessed as permanently unfit for both general and home service and later returned to Australia in October 1917 suffering from both senility and debility . He was discharged due to medical unfitness on 29 November 1917 . It was established that Shirley suffered from tuberculosis prior to his time in the war , but his service had accentuated it . In August 1922 he received the Victory medal , Star medal , and the British War medal
Star medal
1914–15 Star
William Thomas Shirley