Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War II (1939-1945)

Date of Enlistment

27/12/1939

Date of Discharge

22/08/1945

Place of Enlistment

Melbourne, Victoria

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

02/04/1914

Place of Birth

Brunswick, Victoria

Address (at enlistment)

West Brunswick, Victoria, previously at Reid House, Reid ACT

Occupation

Public servant

Next of Kin

Charlotte Lancaster (mother), West Brunswick, Victoria and later his wife, Jean Lancaster, 'Fern Hill', Yass Road, Ainslie ACT

Service Number

VX9773

Final Rank

Major

Final Unit

2/3 Battalion

Mention in Despatches - London Gazette: 24 June 1943 (page 2865, position 51), Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 16 March 1944 (page 650, position 69).

Bill Lancaster lived at Glebe House in Reid when he moved to Canberra in 1937 to work as a ledger keeper with the War Service Service Homes Commission. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion (militia) at the beginning of the war but served in the Middle East with the 2/3 Battalion from January 1940 and was appointed as a Lieutenant in January 1942. He was promoted to Captain in April 1942 and became OIC of the 2nd Echelon Army Records in the Middle East based in Jerusalem and Gaza. For his work during this period Lancaster was mentioned in despatches. He returned to Australia in February 1943 and married Jean Southwell of 'Fern Hill', Canberra at St. John's Church in Reid on 20 March 1943. Lancaster was promoted to Major in November 1943 and transferred to Australian Army Records in August 1944.

After the war he moved to the Audit Office before accepting a position at the Australian War Memorial in 1953. He became Assistant Director of the War Memorial the following year and was Director of the War Memorial from 1966 to 1973 when he retired. During his directorship the Memorial completed the Roll of Honour, extensions were added to the building, it expanded its role as a museum and Lancaster appointed the first conservators and curators. Bill Lancaster died on 25 February 2003 and is buried in Woden Cemetery.

His father had died at the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916 when Lancaster was two years old. His son Ross served in Vietnam.

NAA RecordSearch - Series B883 (Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947)
Susan and Kevin McIntosh, 'The Highland Shepherd', 2017 (p.286)
WWII Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au
ACT Electoral Rolls 1916 to 1967 http://canberraheritageportal.org/default.php
ACT electoral rolls - 1937, 1939, 1941
AWM Honours & Awards
AWM Collections Record: 135592
The Canberra Times - 26 January 1939, 7 September 1939, 24 March 1943, 14 April 1943, 15 January 1944, 4 April 2003