Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

'We were over the Palestine - Syria border and had a look over old sights again. It made me think a few things when I saw those little wooden crosses and thought of those great boys who were under them' (Trove; 13 September 1941; letters written by Gunner Wallace Alexander'.

Private Wallace Alexander (Service No:NX30200) enlisted in the AIF on 11 June 1940, and was a Gunner  attached to 2/5 Field Regiment on 9 April 1941 when he embarked with his Unit from Sydney for the Middle East. Gunner Alexander served in Syria - Palestine, and wrote descriptive, informative and entertaining letters home. 'The Arabs are just the same as they were a thousand years ago: the womenfolk go to the wells for water, and carry it away in jars that hold about four gallons, and they balance it on their head without even keeping a hand on it. I suppose Ollie Sproule, E Warby, W Walker, and quite a few others fought around the same sandhills we are training in; in fact, there are still trneches and shell holes left where the Light Horse made their great charge during the last war' (Trove; 13 September 1941). Gunner Alexander was attached to 2/4 Field Regiment on 25 March 1942 when he embarked from the Middle East for Adelaide via Bombay on board the Ile de France. During his New Guinea service (30 July 1943 - 8 March 1944) Gunner Alexander served with 2/4 Field Regiment in Nadzab, the Markham Valley, Shaggy Ridge and Ramu Valley, writing descriptive letters home about his experiences, and saying 'Work on the farm is not in the race with this ... We are tired out, it never seems to stop raining here, and there is always mud and slush around. If you ever hear of anyone complaining of the way they have to live, just explain to them the conditions under which we exist here' (Trove; 22 February 1944). Gunner Alexander then served in Borneo - Morotai and Balikapan - from 15 June 1945 to 5 December 1945, and was attached to 2/4 Field Regiment at Discharge on 18 December 1945.

Blue was born in Jamberoo via Kiama, New South Wales in 1904, eldest of three children of James Wallace Alexander (b1872 in Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales) and Lucy Jane Henwood (b1877 in Wallsend, New South Wales). James (a Dairy Farmer) and Lucy (a Teacher) married in 1902 in Sydney, and settled at Wallaby Hill via Jamberoo, where they raised their family and James was a Dairy Farmer. For many years James was also Director of the Jamberoo Dairy Coy Operative Society and an Alderman on the Jamberoo Council.

Blue, well known for his sporting activities, was a Dairy Farmer at Jamberoo, and in 1933 in Wagga Wagga he married Ivy Isabel Gittoes (b1909 in Gundagai, New South Wales). Blue and Ivy settled in Jamberoo via Kiama, where they raised their family and Blue was a Dairy Farmer when he enlisted in the Army in 1940. Blue - 'Since his Discharge he has not enjoyed the best of health' (Obituary; 1947) - died in Concord Repatriation Hospital in 1947. Ivy later remarried, and died in 1997.