WILLIAMSON, Alfred Thomas
| Service Number: | 1615 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 March 1916, Ararat, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield (WW1) |
| Born: | Landsborough, Victoria, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Landsborough, Pyrenees, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Landsborough State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Natural Causes , Caulfield South, Melbourne ,Victoria , Australia, 1985 |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne C of E section 9th Avenue |
| Memorials: | Landsborough Memorial Wall |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1615, Ararat, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jun 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1615, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1615, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne | |
| 17 Jun 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1615, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, Gassed. Evacuated to UK. Discharged for duty 15 January 1918 but never returned to unit. | |
| 19 Apr 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield (WW1), Harefield, UK | |
| 21 Jun 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1615, No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield (WW1), RTA 11 January 1919 (with his English wife) and discharged as MU (invalid). |
Alfred
Alfred was the only son of Alfred and Honora Williamson who lived and died in Landsborough Victoria . Alfred served in France and was injured by shrapnel and gassed in France , he went to England to recover and then was attached to Harefield Hospital to help care for Australian Soldiers .
Alfred married Gertrude Dobbs in England in 1918 before he returned to Australia after the Great War. He worked for the Prahran City Council in Melbourne as a Stableman . Then he worked putting the bluestones into gutters . He retired when he was in his early 70’s. He was affected by the war and rarely spoke about it . He and Gertrude had a son John . He spent his time with his son and his family and grew vegetables and had chickens . He rode a push bike from Windsor in Melbourne to Carnegie to visit his family . He was a kind gently spoken man . He lived until he was 91 . He was hit by a car one afternoon after shopping at the Prahran Market . He was entering a tram to go home and was knocked over by a car . He was not badly hurt but his health declined and he entered a Nursing Home in Caulfield where he died in 1985 . He is buried with his wife at Springvale Cemetery .
He was and still is known by his Grandchildren as Old Pa.
We are very proud of his contribution to his country .
Submitted 25 February 2019 by Colin Williamson
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