ALEY, Frederick Roger
| Service Number: | 609 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Nannine, Meekatharra, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 15 October 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Lijssenthoek, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kings Park Western Australia State War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 609, 44th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 609, 44th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suevic, Fremantle | |
| 15 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 609, 31st Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 609 awm_unit: 31st Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-15 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Aubrey Bairstow
Frederick Roger Aley was a 21 year old English labourer working in Australia when he enlisted in the AIF in February 1916. He embarked from Freemantle for Plymouth in June 1916 and was sent to France in November 1916. He had gone AWOL for a few days prior , no doubt reconnecting with his family in Essex.
He was accidentally wounded by a bomb blast to the face at Raumville in France in January 1917, and a Court of Enquiry deemed that it was due to a faulty round rather than any particular person.
The 8th Brigade joined the newly raised 5th Australian Division in Egypt, and proceeded to France, destined for the Western Front, in June 1916. The 31st Battalion fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19 July 1916, having only entered the front-line trenches 3 days previously. The attack was a disastrous introduction to battle for the 31st - it suffered 572 casualties, over half of its strength. Although it still spent periods in the front line, the 31st played no major offensive role for the rest of the year.
In early 1917, the German Army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line allowing the British front to be advanced and the 31st Battalion participated in the follow-up operations. The battalion subsequently missed the heavy fighting to breach the Hindenburg Line during the second battle of Bullecourt as the 8th Brigade was deployed to protect the division's flank.
The only large battle in 1917 in which the 31st Battalion played a major role was Polygon Wood, fought in the Ypres sector in Belgium on 26 September.
Frederick was wounded whilst serving with his section of rifle grenadiers on 12 October 1917.
He was in a trench just behind a pill box which was being heavily shelled. A shell “bobbed” on the parapet and he was hit in the chest and leg as the shell exploded. He was dug out and admitted to hospital however died of severe shell wounds to his chest, back and arm on 14 October and was buried the following day.