Shep's Place Family Tree

Ethel and Edgar Horwood gave a reception for the bride and groom at their home.

The boys were taught to swim by being thrown off the Semaphore jetty.

When Wilf finished school, he was apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner. He worked on many buildings in the Port Adelaide area.

On 28 August 1916 Wilf enlisted in the 43rd Australian Infantry Forces, and sailed by ship S.S. Berrima on 16 December 1916. He first saw action in France in September 1917 and was badly gassed in June 1918; consequently, he was sent to Harefield Hospital in London for convalescence. On 12 October 1918 Wilf returned to Australia, first landing in Melbourne.

Wilf had previously met Beth Strauss in 1916 when she stayed with the Shepherds en route from Sydney to Perth. Beth had met Wilf's brother Frank in Tenterfield, where her grandpaents lived; and he had given her an invitation to visit his parents. Beth and Wilf became engaged before he left for Europe. While he was away, Beth stayed in Adelaide with Wilf's sister Ethel Horwood. She helped Ethel in the home and studied shorthand and typing at the School of Mines on North Terrace.

Wilf had studied architecture before the war, but did not finish the course. He and his brother Leo were in partnership: Shepherd Brothers Builders and Contracters of Westbourne Park. Some of his work took him to the far north of the state and to the Northern Territory.

During the difficult times of the Depression, Wilf worked at home making joinery, and then applied for work as a commerical traveller for Walter & Morris Ltd. One of his jobs was measuring and ordering all the quantities for the timber in the new Parliament House on North Terrace, which was completed in 1936,

Wilfred had a keen interest in sport. The wider Shepherd family enjoyed regular games of tennis together. He and Beth were keen workers in the Black Forest Baptist Church.

Wilfred enjoyed the outdoor life and the beauties of nature. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather.