DORAN, Alfred Leo
| Service Number: | 24 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 March 1916, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 17 June 1893 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Metal worker |
| Died: | Natural causes, Earlwood, New South Wales, Australia, 13 November 1971, aged 78 years |
| Cemetery: |
Kemps Creek Cemetery & Crematorium, NSW Burried at Kemps Creek lawn cemetery with his sister, Lilly Wooton. |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 24, Sydney, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 24, 9th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 1 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 24, 9th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Benalla, Sydney | |
| 1 Jul 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 24, 9th Machine Gun Company, Battle of Messines, I think Alf Doran was wounded on July 1st 1917. War diaries indicate 'many casualties' but no names. His personal record indicates an injury on the 1st and the he left by ambulance to 'rest camp'on July 6. A 'Victor F.F. Rhodes' is listed as a wounded on July 6 but his number is incorrectly written as 24, which is Doran's number. Rhode's number was 424C(?). His records indicate that he was wounded on July 6th. CD 27.02.2019 | |
| 6 Jul 1917: | Wounded 24, 9th Machine Gun Company, Battle of Messines, I believe Alf Doran was injured on July 6 or 7 but it is incorrectly listed in Unit War diaries. A Private. Rhodes. No. 24 is listed as injured. A.L. Doran was No. 24 not Rhodes as indicated in diary. Doran's B 103 has him leaving in ambulance on 06.07.17. I believe a bullet 'nicked' his nose. C. Doran, 26.02.2019 |
Alf Doran Returns Home
Alfred Leo returned in 1919 and married his sweetheart from before the war, Millie North. They had on child John (Jack) Alfred Doran, born 1920. Millie died very young in 1931, probably of cancer. The only thing we know is from the childhood memories of Jack, that, 'she was in a lot of pain for quite a while'. Alfred lost his job and then his house (in Newtown?) to the banks in the early 1930s. Jack was brought up largely by his Grandmother (Irish?) and 'the Brothers'. Alfred married again but it didn't last. She was a 'party girl' was term used by Jack's wife. Alfred lived in Newtown then in View ST Earlwood with his mother (Grandma Doran) and Jack. He moved in with his Sister Lilly Wooten, her Daughter Trish and her husband , a post WW2German immigrant Hubert Kuthchna(?) in Earlwood until his death in the1990s.
he remained close friends with his foster brother Frank Behan who also enlisted in WW1.
Jack enlisted (reluctantly because of the warnings form Alf) and served in Northern and West Austarlia. He married Aileen and had 3 Sons (I am one of them) and 6 grandchildren. jack remained close with Alf but possibly was not 'impressed' by him.
This is a very brief musings from Carl Doran. I think it is accurate. More to come. July 2018 100th anniversary of Battle for Hamel.
Submitted 10 July 2018 by Carl Doran
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