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Bill Clemence was discharged from the AIF, the Australian Imperial Force, on 18 December
1945.
He started going out with Thelma Honeycombe early in 1947; she was still in her teens. At
work he would try to make her laugh with various pranks; after work they would go to the
theatre or cinema and became involved in church concert parties at the Methodist Church in
Ballarat Road, Footscray. Thelma played the piano, and Bill produced some of the shows. She
liked dancing, and to please her he took some dancing lessons. They became engaged in
December 1947, soon after Bill's father died.
Thelma was Dick and Addie Honeycombe's only daughter. Their only son, Arthur, who was
two years younger than Bill, had married Laurel Winwood in Sydney in September 1946.
Arthur said later: 'Laurel and I were living with my parents after our marriage and were present
when Thelma first brought Bill home for tea. We took to each other right from the start. Bill had
served in the army, and I in the airforce, and we both liked service life. At this time, the armed
forces started up the Citizen's Military Forces and we decided to join together in the 58/32
Battalion at the Footscray drill hall. Bill was a man's man, with a good sense of humour and very
firm ideas on most subjects. Everyone knew where they stood with Bill. We enjoyed some
years together in the Forces, with week-night parades, and an occasional weekend away, and a
two-week stint once a year. We also entered a Three Division basketball competition together.
When Thelma and Bill married, I not only had a good friend, but a brother that I never had
before.'
Arthur and Laurel lived with his parents in Footscray (and with Auntie Louie) for three years,
moving out of the family home at 28 Coral Avenue just before Thelma and Bill were wed. Their
wedding took place at the Ballarat Road Methodist Church on 26 November 1949, the rain
holding off until the photos had been taken.
After a honeymoon in the Blue Mountains, Bill and Thelma went to live with Bill's widowed
mother in Ivanhoe, in the house at 14 The Ridgeway that Bill
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would later buy and live in for the rest of his life. He and Thelma continued to work at
Beauchamps for another four years, until the first of their three daughters was born, Sue. The
other two were Kay and Judy. All three married in due course.
In 1956 Bill left Beauchamps and joined Jacka Wortley Upholsterers' Suppliers, for whom he
worked as a sales rep for the next 28 years, travelling as far as Queensland in his company car.
He played golf and bowls and supported Carlton FC. He whistled his way through odd jobs
and while gardening. He sang Bing Crosby songs. Although he did not attend church himself, he
assisted Thelma with her church work and with concerts presented at the church.
It was in 1982 that Bill, who suffered from heart trouble, like his father, had his first heart attack.
Open-heart surgery followed and the first of six bypass operations - the last of which, in 1994,
he failed to survive.
He died in hospital on 30 September 1994, three weeks after his birthday. He was 73.
The eulogy at his funeral, which was very well attended, was read by Eric Cooper, who had
been a POW with Bill.
He said: 'Bill was a great mate, and always there to lend a hand to those who needed help. Bill
has always been a member of our Association and has been a past president and committee
man. He was also a member of the Ivanhoe RSL and each year did a great job rattling the
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