Alfred Tennyson Needham
From Our Contribution
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth |
unknown "unknown" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation. |
| Place of Birth | Emerald Hill, Victoria |
| Death | 9 Jun 1948 |
| Place of Death | Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, new South Wales |
| Age at Enlistment | 38 years, 10 months |
| Description |
5'7" (1.70m) tall ; 147 lbs 66.678 kg ; ruddy complexion ; brown eyes ; brown hair |
| Occupation | Labourer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Address | Post Ofice, Armadale, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Wife , Mrs Temperance Lilian Needham |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 3092A |
| Date of Enlistment | 1 Oct 1916 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Formation | 3rd Pioneer Battalion, 6th Reinforcement, transferred to 11th Battalion / 3rd Brigade, 1st Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 29 Dec 1916 ‒ 3 Mar 1917 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A34 Persic Fremantle to Devonport |
| Date of Return | 12 Dec 1918 ‒ 18 Jan 1919 |
| Ship Returned On | HMAT A71 Nestor |
| Fate |
Wounded in Action 3 Jun 1918 at Messines Returned to Australia |
| Monument | none currently |
| Medals |
British War Medal Victory Medal |
Pre War
Married Temperance Lillian Offer in Perth in 1916 before going overseas.
Electoral Roll entries - 1903 - 1906 labourer at Mount Sir Samuel (Coolgardie); 1916 at Beris (Mt Margaret area).
War Service
Alf enlisted on 1 Oct 1916 and was allocated to the 90th Depot Company at Blackboy Hill for training. On 16 Nov 1916 he was allocated to the 19th reinforcement draft for the 28th Battalion, but on 2 Dec 1916 this changed to the 6th reinforcement draft for the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, and he travelled with them to England aboard HMAT A34 Persic. Disembarking at Devonport on 3 Mar 1917, he was sent to the Pioneer Training Battalion at Durrington, but on 11 Jul 1917 he was transferred to the 3rd Training Battalion at Fovant.
On 7 Nov 1917 he was transferred to the 2nd Training Battalion at Sutton Veny and then on 28 Nov 1917 he travelled through Folkestone to France where he was taken on strength by the 11th Battalion while it was in a rest area at Courset, north of Étaples on 6 Dec 1917. He spent five days in hospital during Jan 1918 having an accidental injury to his elbow attended to. On 3 Jun 1918 at Villers Bretonneux Alfred received a shell wound to his left arm and shoulder - described as severe. The German's had shelled a section of trench before sending a raiding party into it. While the raid was successfully repelled, Alf seems to have received his wounds in the preparatory bombardment.
Treated the same day as the injury by the 3rd Field Ambulance, the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station, and the 32nd Stationary Hospital before evacuation to England on 14 Jul 1918 aboard the HMHS St Andrew.
In England he was admitted to the King George Hospital, before being transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield on 28 Aug 1918. Recovered, he was released to No 2 Command Depot in Weymouth on 17 Sep 1918 to be processed for return to Australia where he was discharged by the 5th Military District 29 Jun 1920. It is probable that he spent lengthy periods in hospitalDied of "War Service" 9 Jun 1948
Post War
Electoral Roll entries - 1925 a vocational trainee in Mars street Carlisle; 1931 a storekeeper at 49 Canning road, East Fremantle; house number was 53 Canning road in 1937. 1943 no occupation, at Albert street, Hazelbrook, NSW. No children.
Notes