AITKEN, Arthur
| Service Numbers: | 1302, 1444 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 October 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1895 |
| Home Town: | St Kilda East, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer and Plasterer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 21 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" LONE PINE MEMORIAL Panel 40. , Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Oct 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1302 | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1914: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 1302, Maryborough, Victoria, Australia | |
| 2 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1302, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Melbourne | |
| 2 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1302, 14th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
| 26 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1444, 14th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 8 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1444, 14th Infantry Battalion, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli | |
| 21 Aug 1915: | Involvement Private, 1444, 14th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1444 awm_unit: 14 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1915-08-21 |
Help us honour Arthur Aitken's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Julianne Ryan
Born at Saltcoats, Ayrshire in 1895.
Father Walter Drummond Aitken (teacher) and Mother Elizabeth McKenzie Stark Aitken,
of Alva; subsequently of 141 Coplaw Street, Covanhill, Glasgow. His mother left Alva circa 1914 to live in Glasgow.
Arthur lived with his parents prior to emigrating to Australia.
Siblings: (Brothers)
Frank William Aitken (also preferred to as Francis Aitken).
Born at Alva in 1886.
Husband of Janet Plenderleith Aitken, of Alipore, Skelmorlie, Ayrshire.
Occupation: apprentice printer compositor.
Clerk 3rd Class 299256 Royal Air Force Recruits Depot (Blandford).
06/10/1918 Died at the military hospital, Wool, Dorset, UK, aged 32.
ARDROSSAN CEMETERY M. B. 488.
Also commemorated at Alva War Memorial; Alva St Serf’s stone plaque. 14
Private S/40395 Norman McKenzie Aitken - Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 7th Bn.
Born at Saltcoats, Ayrshire in 1893.
Occupation: engine fitter.
16/02/1919 Died at Possil Park, Glasgow, of illness contracted in France, aged 26.
Also commemorated at Alva War Memorial; Alva St Serf’s stone plaque.
Sergeant 331 Walter D. Aitken - Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Born at Alva in 1888.
Occupation: pension clerk.
22/03/1922 Died at Kirkintilloch, aged 33.
Commemorated at Alva War Memorial; Alva St Serf’s stone p
Sister - Marion.
Arthur had been a labourer in St Kilda, Victoria prior to enlisting.
Arthur was described on enlisting as 22 years 9 months of age; 5' 9" tall;
147 lbs; sallow complexion; brown eyes; brown hair; Presbyterian.
Private 1444 Australian 14th Infantry Battaliion
21/10/1914 Arthur enlisted into WWI at Maryborough, Victoria
31/01/1915 appointed to 2nd reinforcements, 14th Infantry Battalion
Broadmeadows Camp
02/02/1915 embarked Port of Melbourne, Victoria, onboard HMAT A46 Clan Macgillivray
as a Private with 14th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement
12/04/1915 proceeded to join Mediterranean Expeditionary Forces in Gallipoli, ANZAC
Dardanelles
08/08/1915 reported as "MISSING" at Dardanelles
21/08/1915 now reported as 'killed in action' at Gallipoli - aged 21
His name is commemorated at:
- Panel 73 at the Australian War Memorial Canberra, ACT.
- Panel 40 at the LONE PINE MEMORIAL, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey
- Alva War Memorial
- Alva St Serf’s stone plaque.
Medals: 1914/15 Star (10083); British War medal (23225); Victory medal (23056)
Memorial Plaque and Scroll (308384)
Submitted by Julianne T Ryan. 30/03/2017. Lest we forget.
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Brother Frank was a casualty of the Great War.
Brother Norman was an army reserve man at death so had been discharged. He was Private, Service Number S/40395 in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 7th Bn. Died at Possil Park, Glasgow, of illness [Tuberculosis] contracted in France, on 16/02/1919 but there is nothing in his records to prove his death was due to/aggravated by service. No mention of TB so could have been contracted after service etc.
Brother Walter D. Aitken was a Sergeant or Lance Sergeant, Service Number 331, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Died at Kirkintilloch on 22/03/1922, aged 33. This was outside the WWI qualifying date, so he is not commemorated as a war casualty.
The fourbrothers are commemorated on the Alva War Memorial and on the Alva St Serf’s stone plaque.
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
After several months of training, the 14th battalion embarked for Lemnos on 12 April 1915, and then for Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.
The 14th battalion landed at Gallipoli on the morning of 26 April 1915, taking up initial positions along Shrapnel Gully under heavy fire, then moving up to Quinn's Post and Courtney's Post on 27 April 1915.
Arthur Aitken was listed as missing, later killed, in action on 8 August 1915 following the unsuccessful attack on Hill 971 as part of the August Offensive. There is a very high probability he was killed at or near a place called Abdel Rahman Bair (the ridgeline immediately before Hill 971) where the 14th Battalion was caught in the open by well sited Turkish machine guns and driven back with significant casualties (36 killed, 93 wounded and 128 missing - later confirmed killed).
Arthur Aitken's body was never recovered and he is memorialised at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli
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