DOBLE, William Alfred
| Service Number: | 14684 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 October 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 14th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, 28 July 1897 |
| Home Town: | Brompton, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Brick maker |
| Died: | Natural causes, Port Adelaide, South Australia, 10 December 1980, aged 83 years |
| Cemetery: |
Enfield Memorial Park, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Hindmarsh Federated Brick, Tile & Pottery Industrial Union Roll of Honor, Renown Park Brompton School Great War Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 14684 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 14684, 14th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 4 May 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 14684, 14th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
William Alfred Doble was born in Adelaide on the 28th of July 1897 and he lived in the suburb of Brompton. During his early life, he worked as a brick maker in Adelaide. He enlisted on the 2nd of October 1915. At the time of enlistment was 114 lbs, his chest was 38.34 inches, 5 foot 6 and ¼ and he stated his age as 18 and 2 months. He was assigned to the 14th Field Artillery Brigade in the 32nd Battalion. He was placed into a Gunner role. His service number was 14684. Prior to his enlistment, he had no previous experience in military service.
The date of enlistment was on the 2nd of October 1915 and at the his next of kin was listed as his mother Mrs Bella Doble but was later changed to his father William Henry Doble. William Alfred Doble Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A17 Port Lincoln on 4 May 1916.
Throughout William Henry Doble service in the war, he was admitted to the hospital four times because he got sick. The first occurrence was on 28/1/17 and he re-joined on 6/3/17, the second time was on the 11/6/17 and he re-joined on the 18/6/17, the third time was on the 25/8/17 and re-joined on the 1/9/17 and the last occurrence to the hospital was on the 4/9/17 and re-joined on the 8/9/17.
Doble was in trouble many times. His first offense was 22/7/16 when he went AWL (Absent without leave) and he was punished with a F.P. (field punishment) No. 2 for 10 days. This involved heavy labour for the period of the punishment. On the 16/12/16, While on active service he lost a rifle, and his punishment was to defray the cost of the rifle. Later, on the 6/6/17 he committed a crime for going A.W.L and his punishment was a F.P No.2 for 14 days. On the 7/11/17 he committed another offence for being absent from a 6pm parade and his punishment was F.P (Field Punishment) No.2 for 7 days. On the 2/8/17 he was charged with deserting His Majesties service. On the 22/5/17 he was found not guilty of desertion, but found guilty for A.W.L. He was sentenced for F.P NO.1 for 90 days and 109 fortified pay.
Not long after he went AWL again, he subsequently escaped guard and on the 10/1/19 he was sentenced to two years I.H.L (International Humanitarian Law). He was placed in a French prison on the 25/5/19 and got released on the 21/7/19. After he was released, he returned to Australia disembarking on the 21/11/19 and was discharged 14/1/20. For his service he was honoured and British war medal 12312 and a victory medal 12170. For the entirety of his service, he was not promoted and remained a private.
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