ALLEN, Maurice William Reef
| Service Number: | 2328 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 4th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company |
| Born: | Calcutta, West Bengal, India, 16 May 1879 |
| Home Town: | Wallaroo, Copper Coast, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Boiler Maker |
| Died: | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 3 October 1944, aged 65 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Grand Masonic Lodge WW1 Honour Board (2), Adelaide South Australian Railways WW1 & WW2 Honour Boards |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Nov 1917: | Involvement Private, 2328, Railway Unit (AIF), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
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| 9 Nov 1917: | Embarked Private, 2328, Railway Unit (AIF), HMAT Port Sydney, Melbourne |
Non Warlike Service
| 27 Jun 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sapper, 2328, 4th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Maurice William Reef Allen was born on the 16th of May 1879, in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He was the son of William Allen and Emma Florence May Savage. Before enlisting, he worked for 5 years as a boiler maker in Calcutta, India. He married Elizabeth Henrietta on the 7th of August 1905 at the age of 26, in West Bengal, India. On his attestation record, he stated he also had two children. At some point, he moved to Wildman Street, Wallaroo. With no previous military service on his record, on the 22nd of October 1917 in Adelaide at the age of 38 years and 5 months, Allen enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for active service abroad. On his enlistment papers, he was listed as a member of the Church of England. He was described as 5 feet 8 ¾ inches tall, 152 pounds with light brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion.
He was assigned to the 4th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company on the 8th of November 1917 at Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria. The 4th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company worked on railway systems that ran through the northern section of the Western Front, delivering and supplying ammunition, food, equipment, and medical supplies to the soldiers in that area. On his service record, next to Qualification, it is stated that he was a qualified mechanic, and next to Rank, he is listed as a sapper, which is a military engineer.
He embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on the 9th of November 1917, on board HMAT A15 Port Sydney. On the 12th of December 1917, he disembarked at Suez, Egypt. Then, a few days later, he embarked again at Alexandria on the 18th of December, and on the 22nd of December, he made a stopover in Taranto, Italy. From there, he continued to Southampton, England, and he disembarked there on the 4th of January 1918. He proceeded overseas and arrived in France on the 11th of February 1918.
On the 12th of December 1918, he transferred to England and on the 18th of January 1919, he left England for his return to Australia on board the H.T. Ulysses. On the 1st of March 1919, he arrived in Adelaide and on the 27th of June 1919, he was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force.
Maurice William Reef Allen passed away on the 3rd of October 1944, at the age of 65 and was buried in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, and was buried in Bengal, India.