Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Albert CROWLE

Military Medal

'For conspicuous gallantry and endurance as stretcher-bearer near Longatte on 20th March, 1917. The wounded had to be collected under Artillery and Machine Gun fire and carried considerable distance under fire. These stretcher bearers in complete disregard of their own safety worked their hardest to get the wounded away at the earliest opportunity. Cooper and Alder were both wounded in the arm but continued to carry their case right down to the R.A Post.'

Recommendation date: 25 March 1917 for Stretcher bearers by G.O.C 6th Australian Battalion, 5th Australian Infantry Brigade and 2nd Australian Division.

The 5 Stretcher Bearers were- Pte Lawrence Coltish 2149, Pte Addie Cooper 5002, Pte James Alder 3753, Pte Albert Frank Crowle 128, Pte Harry Locke 1586.

The Bendigo Independent Newspaper reported the following on May 31, 1917: KILLED IN ACTION.

The sad news of the death of Private Albert ("Bunny") Crowle was conveyed to Mrs. M. Crowle, of Vinton street, California Gully, yesterday morning-. Private Crowle before enlisting was employed at the Golden Pyke mine, and was a well-known trainer of the California Gully Football Club. He enlisted in January 1915, and sailed in May of the same year. After spending some time in Egypt he was transferred to Gallipoli, being on the Southland when it was torpedoed. He served a considerable time before he was scalded on one foot and frostbitten on the other, but he was sent back, and was present at the evacuation. He then went to Egypt, and later was transferred to France, in the first Australian quota, and fought in most of the heavy fighting of last year's offensive, and was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry in the field. Private Crowl was 24 years old last November, and was very well liked by a large circle of friends, who will, no doubt, sincerely regret to 'hear of his death.[1]

Albert Crowle has no known grave with his name recorded on the walls of the Australian War Monument at Villers-Bretenoux in Northern France.

Albert signed up in January 1915 at age 22. His was a miner at the Golden Pyke mine in Eaglehawk and lived with his widowed mother Mary in California Gully. Placed into the 21st Battalion he would embark in May 1915 landing on Gallipoli on August 29, 1915. It was an eventful trip, the battalion's transport (Southland) was torpedoed near the island of Lemnos and had to be abandoned.

The 21st Battalion arrived in Egypt in June 1915. As part of the newly raised 2nd Australian Division, the battalion landed at ANZAC Cove on 7 September. It had a relatively quiet time at Gallipoli, as the last major Allied offensives had been defeated in August and Gallipoli became a dreadful and deadly stalemate.

 Albert would be evacuated off the Dardanelles with a scalded foot on December 12, just a week before the secret evacuation of all of the Allied forces. On his service record it is recorded he is suffering ‘Trench feet’ which may explain how his feet came to be scalded in the rudimentary treatment soldiers self administrated on Gallipoli. He would return to Egypt for treatment where he is recorded as suffering ‘Frostbite’ in his other foot.

Recovered, he would join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sailing from Egypt to France in March 1916. In France, Albert had a number of discipline issues in which he is severely punished, however in April 1917 along with four other stretcher bearers he undertakes heroic deeds near the village of Longatte on March 20 in a smaller battles that is lead up to a full offensive at Bullecourt that commences on May 3, where Albert was sadly 'Killed In Action' when a shell hit the dugout that he and two other stretcher bearers were sheltering in. The other two were rescued however, Albert could not be found. [2]

SERVICE DETAILS: 

Service Number: 128

Born: California Gully September 1892  

Address on Enlistment: Vinton Street, California Gully

Nearest of Kin: Mother Mary Crowle of the above address

Occupation: Miner 

Age at Enlistment: 22

Enlistment date: 20 January, 1915

Embarked: HMAT A38 Ulysses on 10 May 1915

Served: Western Front

Unit name: 21st Battalion, A Company

Final Rank: Private

Fate: Killed in Action 3 May 1917

Buried: No Known Grave: Villers-Bretenoux

Military Medal Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 140 Date:  27 August 1917 on page 1828 at position 42

Battle at Longatte on 20th March, 1917.

C.E.W Bean wrote: -

‘Although Ludendorff, The German supreme Commander, made thorough preparations on three sectors and so leading Haig (British) and Petain (French) to believe that he would spread his forces in three or more thrusts- had in the last weeks by well screened night movements concentrated all his avialbale strength for the central one (to which the Germans gave the code –name Michael ) At dawn on March 21st, by throwing it after sudden bombardment against the thinly spread 5th and 3rd British armies, he reaped the precious results of a great surprise.’[3] 

[1] Bendigo Independent Newspaper, May 31, 1917. P.6
[2] Australian Red Cross File for Albert Crowle,

Australian War Memorial website.
[3] Anzac to Amiens, C.E.W.Bean. Penguin Books.2014. P. 406