Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alfred Mathieson, known as Alf, was born in 1892 at Richmond NSW, the eldest of 6 children born to his parents Peter and Charlotte Mathieson.  His younger siblings were Norman, Frederick…known as Dosser, Charles, Clarence and one other.  After completing his education Alf worked as a labourer. 

On the 22nd February 1915 Alf enlisted for WW1 in the AIF at Seymour Camp aged 23 years and 10 months.  His younger brother Clarence, known as Charlie, enlisted on 16th July 1915 aged 15 but gave his age as 18.  Fred enlisted 4 days prior to Charlie aged 19.  Both Fred and Charlie were assigned to the 7th Infantry Battalion but in February 1916 they both transferred to the 60th Infantry Battalion.

Alf is described as being 5ft 4ins tall with a sallow complexion, blue eyes and black hair.  His service number was 401, his rank Private and he was assigned to the newly formed 23rd Infantry Battalion B Company.  He proceeded to Broadmeadows Camp where he completed his training then embarked from Melbourne on HMAT Euripides on the 8th May 1915.  He disembarked at Alexandria, Egypt, on 11th June then proceeded to Aerodrome Camp at Heliopolis, a suburb of Cairo. 

After heavy casualties were sustained during the Battle of Lone Pine at Gallipoli in early August, Allied Command decided to move the 2nd Division from Egypt to Gallipoli to replace the men that were lost and give the survivors a rest.  As part of the 2nd Division, the 23rd Battalion left Alexandria in a convoy of ships on 30th August 1916 bound for Lemnos Island and then Gallipoli.  The majority of the 23rd Battalion were on one ship but Alf’s B Company was on HMT Southland…along with the 21st Battalion and 2nd Division HQ Staff.  The waters in the Aegean Sea were noted for submarine attacks so the convoy was travelling in a zigzag pattern to try and avoid being torpedoed.  However, at 9.45am on 4th September HMT Southland was 30 miles south of Lemnos Island when it was hit by a torpedo.  All but 40 of the 1,400 men aboard were able to leave in lifeboats and were picked up by other transports but some of the troops did spend up to 4 hours in the water.  The explosion killed 14, 11 of them from the 23rd Battalion, and 22 drowned including the Commanding Officer of the 6th Brigade, Colonel Linton.  In spite of the damage the sink didn’t sink so the remaining men and crew managed to get the ship to Lemnos Island under its own steam later that day where it was repaired and returned to service in August 1916.  The men who survived the attack were eventually landed at Gallipoli on 7th September 1915.  However, Alf wasn’t with them.  He was admitted with VD to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital at West Mudros on Lemnos Island on 5th September…3 days after the attack.  He was transferred 12 days later to the 18th British Stationary Hospital also at West Mudros.  He then proceeded to the Base Details Camp and was discharged for duty to Gallipoli on 26th September 1915.  The duties of the 23rd Battalion at Gallipoli were to man the Lone Pine trenches and due to the intensity of the fighting in that sector the Battalion alternated their position with the 24th Battalion almost every day until the evacuation of the troops in late December.  In early October 1915 Alf was classified temporarily unfit for duty and returned to Lemnos Island where he was temporarily attached for duty to the 3rd Australian General Hospital.  On 4th December he returned for duty to Gallipoli and embarked with the Battalion being one of the last troops to leave Gallipoli in the early hours of the 20th December.  The Battalion proceeded to Lemnos Island. 

Alf was admitted to the hospital ship HMHS Asturias on 11th January 1916 and upon arrival at Alexandria, Egypt, he was admitted to the Convalescent Depot at Mustapha.  The next day he was transferred to the 17th General Hospital at Alexandria.  On 4th April 1916 he transferred to the 60th Infantry Battalion to join his younger brothers, Fred and Charlie.  He was discharged from hospital the next day and proceeded to join the 60th Battalion at Duntroon Plateau in the Sinai Desert on 20th April where they assisted in the defence of Suez Canal.  The Battalion moved to Ferry Post Camp in mid-May and then to Moascar Camp in early June before proceeding to Alexandria where they embarked for France on 18th June 1916 on HMT Kinfauns Castle.  They disembarked at Marseilles, France, on 29th June and made their way north by train arriving at Rouge-de-Bout on 11th July.  A week later they moved into the frontline trenches and took part in the Battle of Fleubaix at Fromelles on 19th July.  This was a day that changed all their lives forever.  By the end of the day Alf and Fred were wounded and Charlie was initially reported as missing but that was later changed to killed in action.  He was just 16. 

Alf sustained a gunshot wound to his right arm that fractured his humerus and a bullet wound to his right leg.  He was evacuated to England from Boulogne on the hospital ship HMHS St Denis and admitted to the Shorncliffe Military Hospital, Kent, on 31st July 1916.  In mid-June 1917 he was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield then discharged to go on furlough before reporting to No. 2 Command Depot at Monte Video Camp, Weymouth.  He embarked from England invalided for return to Australia on 18th October 1917 and disembarked at Melbourne VIC on 10th December 1917.  He was discharged from the service on 11th April 1918. 

Fred sustained a gunshot wound to the scalp and was evacuated to England.  After convalescing he returned to France on 11th November 1916 and rejoined the 60th Battalion.  In January 1918 he was detached for duty to England and it was from there that he embarked for return to Australia as a Sergeant in late August 1918.  He disembarked at Melbourne VIC on 11th October 1918 and was discharged from the service on 26th October 1918.  After the war Fred worked as a carpenter and in 1919 he married Violet May Beckinsale.  They welcomed 3 children…Clarence, Laura and Raymond.  Fred died in 1935 aged 38. 

Charlie is commemorated on panel 21 of the VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial at Fromelles, France.  The cemetery contains the graves of 410 Australian soldiers who died in the Battle of Fleubaix at Fromelles.  Their bodies were found on the battlefield but not a single one could be identified so it was decided not to mark individual graves but to record their names on a memorial.  The cemetery is situated in what was no-man’s land between the Australian and German lines in 1916 so they have been buried where they fell.

All 3 brothers served in the 60th Battalion D Company.  In 1918 the Richmond Guardian newspaper reported that 100+ Richmond men were in this one company. 

After the war Alf became a lift attendant and in 1938 he married Maie Seymour.  They welcomed a daughter named Venita. 

Alf passed away on 17th September 1961 at Heidelberg VIC aged 68.  He was buried in the Fawkner Cemetery VIC.  

Alfred Mathieson was awarded for service in WW1 the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Anzac Commemorative Medallion.  

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 24th October 2023.

Sources

“The Lost Boys” written by Paul Byrnes (Book)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23rd_Battalion_(Australia)