RYAN, Albert Edward
| Service Number: | 409 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia, 19 March 1885 |
| Home Town: | Surry Hills, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 3 May 1917, aged 32 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Tempe Newtown Tramway Depot Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 12 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 409, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 409, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Sydney | |
| 26 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 409, 17th Infantry Battalion, Gunshot wounds. Sent to England. Admitted for a gunshot wound to his right arm. Discharged on 26th September 1916. | |
| 3 May 1917: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 409, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 409 awm_unit: 17th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-05-03 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Albert Edward RYAN (Service Number 409) was born on 19th March 1885 in Surry Hills. He commenced his career in the Tramways on 3rd April 1909 as a conductor in Sydney. At this point, he was casually employed. On 27th March 1912, he resigned. However, not two months later, he was re-employed, and resumed his position from before he resigned. He worked with the Tramways for just short of three years after this. He was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces on 18th March 1915.
HE was allotted to the 17th Australian Infantry Battalion. He left Australia aboard HMAT ‘Themistocles’ through Sydney on 12th May 1915.
He was discharged from No. 3 Auxiliary Hospital Heliopolis (Egypt) on 18th January 1916. He was taken on the strength of the 17th Battalion at a base the Australians had named ‘Gundagai.’
Two months later, on 17th March1916, he embarked from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Forces. He disembarked at Marseilles on 23rd March. After about four months in the field in France, he was wounded in action. He was admitted for gunshot wounds on 26th July 1916. Two days later, it was decided his injuries were severe enough to warrant being sent to England.
In England, he was admitted for a gunshot wound on his right arm. On 26th September 1916, he was finally discharged from the hospital. After being granted furlough on 27th September, he was found to be Absent Without Leave from 12th October to 17th October. As punishment, he was sentenced to camp for seven days, and had to forfeit six days’ pay. On 19th October, he reported back from furlough.
Once he returned, he was classified B1A, which meant he was to remain under observation after his hospital stay. On 29th March 1917, he proceeded overseas to France to re-join his Battalion in the field. He spent about two weeks back in the field before he was reported missing in action on 3rd May 1917. After a Court of Enquiry held in November 1917, it was decided that he had been killed in action on this day.
One of his friends recalled:
‘he was killed instantly by a shell when quite close to me’.
He is commemorated at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France. Following his death, his father was sent the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal in honour of his son’s service.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.