STEWART, Alexander
| Service Number: | 3895 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 December 1915, Brisbane, Qld. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Toowoomba, Qld., 18 July 1894 |
| Home Town: | Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | 29 January 1968, aged 73 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium, Queensland Columbarium Wall 12, Section 22 |
| Memorials: | Annerley Stephens Shire Council Residents Honour Board 1, Holland Park Mount Gravatt Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3895, 31st Infantry Battalion, Brisbane, Qld. | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 3895, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Choon embarkation_ship_number: A49 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 3895, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Choon, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Ian Lang
Son of Joseph STEWART and Bridget nee MALONE, Rokedale, 8-Mile Plain, Brisbane, Queensland
Alex Stewart was the younger of two brothers who both enlisted on the same day; 9th December 1915. At the time Alex gave his age as 21 years and nominated his mother; Bridget of Logan Road, Mount Gravatt as his next of kin. He had been born in Toowoomba and worked as a labourer.
Drafted as a reinforcement for the 31st Battalion, Alex embarked on the “Seang Choon” in Brisbane on 19th September 1916 and arrived in Plymouth three months later. By January 1917 Alex was in the large depot camp at Etaples in France and after 52 days in hospital for VD, joined the battalion on 19th March 1917. The 31st was employed in mainly reserve operations in Flanders until September 1917 when it was put into the line at Polygon Wood. During this action, Alex received a severe gunshot wound to the thigh. He was evacuated to Colchester Military Hospital on 9th October and then transferred to the Australian hospital at Harefield where he went before a medical board on 16th November.
The decision was made to repatriate Alex back to Australia suffering from acute nephritis (sometime known as trench fever, an infection of the kidneys brought on by exposure). Alex was discharged medically unfit in Brisbane in May 1918.
It would seem that Alex spent his working life travelling around Queensland and Northern New South Wales. In 1938 he wrote to Army base records to obtain a duplicate of his discharge papers which he said had been burnt in a motor car accident. He required new discharge papers to obtain work in a sugar mill in Innisfail, as preference was being given to returned servicemen.
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