The AIF Project

Military Medal

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 4 September 1915.

Found guilty, Mudros, 30 December 1915, of being absent from parade: admonished.

Disembarked Alexandria from Mudros, 10 January 1916 (general Gallipoli evacuation).

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 16 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 21 March 1916.

Wounded in action, 2 August 1916 (gun shot wound, chest), admitted to No 3 Casualty Clearing Station, and transferred same day to Ambulance Train; admitted to No 22 General Hospital, Camiers, 4 August 1917; transferred to England, 15 August 1916, and admitted to Royal Infirmary, Derby (date not recorded); transferred to 5th Northern General Hospital, Leicester, 5 October 1916; discharged to No 1 Command Depot, Perham Downs, 9 October 1916.

Found guilty, Perham Downs, 17 November 1916, of being absent without leave from 3 pm, 24 October, till noon, 16 November 1916: severely reprimanded, and forfeited 24 days' pay.

Awarded Military Medal.

Admitted to 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital, Bulford, 2 February 1917; discharged, 8 February 1917; total period of treatment for venereal disease: 7 days.

Marched in to 7th Training Bn, Rollestone, 8 February 1917.

Tried by District Court Martial, Rollestone, 26 February 1917, on charge of being absent without leave, in that he absented himself without leave from 20 December 1916 until apprehended at London at 9.40 pm, 19 January 1917; pleaded Guilty; found Guilty: awarded 90 days' detention and loss of Lance Stripes; in custody awaiting trial: 57 days; forfeited a total of 98 days' pay.

Found guilty, Rollestone, of being absent without leave from midnight, 13 April, till reporting at midnight, 16 April 1917: confined to camp for 3 days, and forfeited a total of 7 days' pay.

Admitted to Fargo Military Hospital, 12 May 1917 (febricula); discharged to duty, 18 May 1917.

Mother wrote to Governor, South Australia (no date recorded: May 1917?), stating that upon the death of the soldier's wife on 9 June 1916, his five children had been placed in the care of three people. Assistant Provost Marshal, 4th Military District, Adelaide, 21 May 1917, observed: 'It would appear that as this man has married in England [and has attemped to withdraw his allotment to support his children], he is trying to escape his responsibilities in South Australia, and should be returned in order that his children may receive proper attention from him.'

Admitted to Tidworth Military Hospital, 2 June 1917 (inflamed bladder); discharged to duty, 27 July 1917, and marched in to 7th Training Bn, Rollestone.

Found guilty, 21 August 1917, of being absent without leave from 6 am, 14 August, till 10 am,18 August 1917: awarded forfeiture of 10 days' pay; total forfeiture: 15 days' pay.

Marched out to No 2 Command Depot, Weymouth, 3 September 1917, for return to Australia.

Commenced return to Australia on board HT 'Borda', 26 September 1917; disembarked Melbourne, 2 November 1917, for onward travel by train to Adelaide; discharged Adelaide (medically unfit: cholecystitis), 3 January 1918.

War service: 2 years 309 days (of which 2 years 175 days were abroad)