BIRTLES, Earnest
| Service Number: | 1128 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kadina, SA, 15 November 1891 |
| Home Town: | Parkside, Unley, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Plumber |
| Died: | Adelaide, SA, 18 November 1931, aged 40 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (AIF Section) Section: LO, Road: 1S, Site No: 2 |
| Memorials: | Kadina & District WW1 Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Corporal, 1128, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Corporal, 1128, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Corporal, 1128, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 9 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Corporal, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 9 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Sep 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1128, 48th Infantry Battalion, GSW back and neck | |
| 18 May 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1128, 48th Infantry Battalion, MD due to spinal wound | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 1128, 48th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From How We Served
1128 Sergeant Earnest Birtles of Kadina, South Australia had been employed as a plumber when he enlisted for War Service on the 10th of September 1914 and was allocated to reinforcements for the 16th Battalion 1st AIF. Embarked for Egypt and further training, Earnest departed Australia on the 22nd of December, and would be present with his Battalion when they landed at Gallipoli in April 1915.
By the 29th of July he would be on Mudros Island, evacuated due to sickness and was returned to Egypt for hospitalisation and convalescence. Following his recovery, Earnest was transferred over to the 48th Battalion on the 9th of March 1916, and with which he would be shipped to France, disembarking on the 9th of June.
In just under two months of his arriving, and whilst now in the trenches, Earnest received severe shrapnel wounds to his lower back, complicated by shell shock on the 3rd of August. After his condition had been stabilised, Earnest who was marked as dangerously ill, was sent over to England for hospitalisation arriving on the 21st of September. Due to the nature of the spinal injuries he had received, Earnest would remain in England as a cot case patient until he was repatriated back to Australia as an invalid on the 14th of January 1917.
Further long-term medical treatment awaited Earnest after his return to Australia and he formally received his discharge from the 1st AIF on the 18th of May 1917 and was re-entered back into civilian life.
Earnest’s premature death at the age of 40 occurred on the 18th of November 1931 and following which he was formally laid to rest within West Terrace Cemetery, South Australia.
Biography
Son of James BIRTLES and Ellen Bertha nee OLDS
Husband of A BIRTLES
Returned to Australia with Spinal concussion and Paralysis of the left arm
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