Alfred Ernest BEARD

BEARD, Alfred Ernest

Service Number: 4460
Enlisted: 10 October 1915, at Perth
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1)
Born: Southern Cross, Western Australia, Australia, August 1893
Home Town: Holyoake, Murray, Western Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Printer
Died: Killed in Action, France, 3 September 1916
Cemetery: No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Donnybrook War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France)
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World War 1 Service

10 Oct 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4460, 11th Infantry Battalion, at Perth
12 Feb 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4460, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: ''
12 Feb 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4460, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Fremantle
3 Sep 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4460, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Mouquet Farm, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4460 awm_unit: 51 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-09-03

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Biography contributed by Glenunga International High School

Alfred Ernest Beard, son of William and Anna Sarah Beard was born in Southern Cross, Western Australia in 1893. Before joining the war, Beard was a timber worker, and later a printer, and was single. On the 10th of November 1915, Alfred Beard enlisted for the war at the age of 22. He embarked on the HMAT Miltiades A28 on the 12th of February 1916 at Fremantle, Western Australia. At first he was a part of the 11th Infantry Battalion, initially being placed in Egypt with the 11th Battalion which had evacuated Gallipoli in December 1915. At the start of March 1916, he transferred to the newly-formed 51st Infantry Battalion. Beard arrived in France on the 12th of June 1916 with the 51st Battalion. They then moved into the trenches of the Western Front within two weeks. 

On 3rd September 1916, at Mouquet Farm, Alfred was wounded. He moved to the rear towards the Regimental Aid Post but never reached it. His commanding officer thought it likely he was killed by shelling on the way. His body was never recovered.

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