William Slade Vincent

6.0
William Slade Junior joins the British Army

William’s first encounter with the army occurred on 10th November 1915 when he presented himself for enlistment in London. It was stated on the top of his enlistment form that he was to go to the “Special Reserve” unit at Oxford, England.

Enlistment Record (with false date of birth) [52]

On the enlistment form he also stated his birth date as 11th May 1897. This was incorrect as William was born on 11th May 1899 and this detail would be unearthed by the Army later in his career. Therefore, his was 16 years of age at enlistment, not 18.

It interesting to note that in filling out the form, the year part of his birth date, is written with more pressure on the pen than all other parts of the form. This showed some hesitation in filling out the year and it was probably done after the rest of the form was completed. The form, if he was under 21 years of age, required a parent to verify the information submitted was correct. His mother, Alice Vincent signed as his parent.

He stated that he had three years prior experience as a senior cadet at St. Peter’s College military unit, two of those as a sergeant. (No proof of this experience can be found and it could have been concocted to impress the enlistment officer.)

The enlistment form also has a section on the moral character of the applicant. Charles V. MacKay M.D., a Major in the R.A.M.C. (the British Army’s Royal Army Medical Corp) certified that William had a good moral character for the last four years. Charles V. MacKay joined the British Army in 1914 and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. When still a Major, he was appointed as one of the four chiefs of staff of the King George Hospital, in London, one of the largest hospitals in the world at the time, with 2000 beds.

The question arose: how did this British officer know of William’s character, and for four years? Although an Australian, he didn’t know William’s moral character, as he lived in Victoria, before he joined the British Army, and William lived in Adelaide. However, Charles’s mother was Major Vincent’s sister and therefore he was William’s cousin! The letter “V” in the name Charles V. MacKay stood for Vincent!

When medically examined, at Hounslow, England on 12th November 1915, William was slight in build, 5ft 4½in tall (164 cm), weighed 112 lbs (51 kg) and he had perfect eyesight.

William’s Body Measurements [53]

------------------------------
[52] National Archive of UK – Service Record William Slade Vincent
[53] National Archive of UK – Service Record William Slade Vincent