Darwin served in World War I, and was a writer and composer, as well as being a generous fundraiser and a passionate member and supporter of highland bands.
Darwin was living and working in Bendigo when World War I was announced. He enlisted immediately, joined the 7th Battalion and sailed for Egypt. He was injured at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, and later seriously wounded on 18 September 1915, after which he was sent to England to recuperate. Upon his return to service, he joined the troops in France. He was diagnosed with 'shell shock' in September 1916, and returned on a hospital ship to Melbourne.
During the 1920s, Darwin travelled with highland bands in Canada and Britain, and gained a strong reputation as a public speaker. He became known in Scotland as 'The Napoleon from Down Under', or 'The Australian Orator'. Darwin also promoted for sale his own compositions, which include Anzacs, Well Done!, Our Glorious Dead, Dawn of the Glad Tomorrow, Just a Sprig o' Golden Wattle and Australia: Our Native Land.
Darwin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society on June 12, 1922, and returned to Melbourne in 1924. In 1933, he was elected a Brighton City Councillor and was Drum Major of the Brighton City Band. During the Second World War, Darwin established the Legion of Anzac's Band and began organising musical and fundraising events in Melbourne. There are two marches composed in his honour: The Drum Major Will Darwin and Welcome to Drum Major William Darwin.
Darwin's first published story was in the Everylady's Journal of 6 February 1918; it was about the little black cat he had rescued and cared for in the trenches in France and brought back to Melbourne in 1916. Four years after his wife died, Darwin was awarded the British Empire Medal on 28 February 1977 for Community Services. He suffered a stroke and died at his home in Melbourne on 1 December 1981.
(abridged from an article by Wendy Rankine in Sabretache, March 2000)
