William Feather was a farm labourer in Cheviot when he joined the Army in May of 1917. He had been married for just under two years, and had a boy named Alick. Two months' training saw him for for the battle but needed to spend a month in hospital not long after his arrival in England. He left for France at the end of 1917.
William was part of the 1st Battalion of the Canterbury Infantry Regiment which was thrown into the gap which had been driven in British lines by the attacking Germans. They marched off to find the enemy at noon on March 26, with platoons separated by 100 yards and behind a screen of scouts. They reached the abandoned British trenches which had been dug two years before, which was a great piece of luck. Had the Germans arrived, removing them from a ready-made trench system would have been a difficult job.
The night of the 26th was quiet and there was no interference in the small mount of work needed to make the old trenches ready for the enemy attack. Fighting patrols were put out ahead to observe and harass enemy positions.
The morning of March 27 began quietly. German shells began to fall at about 9am, light at first and becoming heavy and joined by mortar and grenade fire. Then, at noon, the infantry attack came. William's Battalion took the heaviest weight of the attack and it is likely that it was then that he died.
His son Alick lived to the age of 82.
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| East Taieri Cemetery, Allan Steel photo. |
FEATHER — In loving memory of Private William Henry Feather, killed in action, March 27th, 1918. "There is one link death cannot sever — Fond remembrance lasts for ever." Inserted by his loving wife. - The Press, 27/3/1919.
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