29562
SILKE, Herbert Alfred
| Service Number: | 6328 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | PAYNEHAM ADELAIDE S.A, 25 July 1883 |
| Home Town: | Paradise, Campbelltown, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Not Known, Perth, Western Australia, 12 February 1953, aged 69 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Campbelltown WW1 Memorial, Mount Barker Soldiers' Memorial Hospital Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 6328, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 6328, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Adelaide |
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Add my storyBiography
My soldier from World War 1 is Alfred Herbert Slike. Alfred was born on the 25th of July 1883 in Payneham, Adelaide. He had brown hair, grey eyes and his religion was Church of England. He grew up in Payenham but when he got married to Eva Muaude Silke they moved to Mount Barker, South Australia. Alfred worked as a farmer to support his wife and his three children before joining the war.
When the First World War started in 1914, 52,561 soldiers enlisted in the war but Alfred wasn’t one. The age requirements were 19-38 years old, although Alfred met these requirements he held back from enlisting in the war for a few years because he had a wife and children to support and take care of. In 1915, 165,912 Australian soldiers enlisted in the war, but yet again Alfred was not one. In this year the practice of handing out white feathers gathered place. These white feathers were placed into young fit men’s letterboxes that had not joined the war. These feathers went to cowards that were too chicken to join the war. It was shameful to receive a white feather, as you were seen as an Australian man not fighting for your country in the war.
At the age of 32 8/12 Alfred enlisted in the war on the 17th of April 1916. He enlisted along with 124,352 soldiers that year, as it was a great adventure and more of a moral decision. The soldiers were motivated to join the army due to a combination of duty, honor and patriotism. He was 5 feet and 7 inches tall at the time and weighted 158 lbs. His chest measured 36.5-38 inches and he had a distinctive scar on his right calf. Alfred had to train before being sent to battle. The aim of training new recruits was to build up their physical fitness and confidence and to teach them the fundamental military skills necessary to function in the army. The soldiers were taught how to use military weapons as well as mentally preparing for the war. Training meant long, tiring days for the soldiers before they were sent overseas.
Alfred departed from Adelaide on the 28th of August 1916 on the HMAT Anchises A68 ship. The HMAT A68 Anchises weighted 10,046 tons and had an approximate cruise speed of 10 knots. His enlistment rank was Private the whole time he was at war. His service number was 6328 and his next of kin was his wife, Eva Maude Silke. Alfred was part of the 10th Infantry Battalion and 20th reinforcement. The 10th Battalion consisted of around 130 men who were all for South Australia. The 10th Battalion was recruited in South Australia, it was formed the 3rd brigade together with the 9th, 11th and 12 Battalions.
The main weapons Silke and the other British soldiers used in the trenchers were the bolt-action rifles. These rifles were very powerful as one person could be killed 1,400 meters away and in just one minute 15 rounds could be fired. Another weapon Silke would have used was a machine Gun, if Silke was to use this gun needed he needed 3-5 other men to work it on a flat surface. Gas was also used in WW1, chlorine gas caused chest pains and you could feel burning in the throat. The gas was sometimes hard to use if there was high levels of winds. This is because if the gas was used it could end up killing there own troops instead of the enemy.
During Alfred’s time in the war he stayed in England. He was in Plymouth, the Southern Coast of Devon, England on the 11th of October 1916 until the 12th of August 1917 when he went to Weymouth, England.
Alfred was injured during his time in the War and had to go to the Auxiliary Hospital. The Auxiliary hospitals were temporary facilities for wounded servicemen in WW1. Alfred was in the hospital from the 12th of July 1916 to the 31st of July 1916.
Alfred received some medals for his service in the war; these medals included a British War Medal, a Victory Medal and a Star Medal.
Alfred Herbet Silke is remembered at the Adelaide 1 National War memorial at Campeltown, as he was a solider in WW1 fighting for his countries freedom.
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Some qualities of what it means to be ANZAC are endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour and mate ship. ANZAC Spirit or ANZAC legend is a concept suggest that Australians and New Zealand soldiers posses shared characteristics, specially and qualities those soldiers on the battlefields of World War 1. The ANZAC sprit was born on the 25th of April 1915 and was reaffirmed in eight mouths fighting in Gallipoli.
Alfred embarked the War on the 20th of October 1917 and returned to Australia from Wellington, England because he was slightly injured (general disability). Alfred died in Perth on the 12th February 1953 at age 69.