CHAPMAN, Alfred
| Service Number: | 1633 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Lismore, Lismore Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Woodlawn Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Mouquet Farm, France, 3 September 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lismore & District Memorial Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1633, 49th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 1633, 49th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Hawkes Bay embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 20 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 1633, 49th Infantry Battalion, SS Hawkes Bay, Sydney |
Help us honour Alfred Chapman's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Alfred Chapman was one of three sons of Sarah and the late Thomas Chapman of Lismore, New South Wales, who enlisted in the AIF during WW1. Alfred’s eldest brother, 7162 Pte. William John Chapman 17th Battalion AIF was killed in action on 15 May 1918, aged 29.
Alfred was joined the 49th Battalion in France only two weeks before he died. He was stated by several witnesses to have been destroyed by a shell during the attack on Mouquet Farm on 3 September 1916. It would be almost 12 months before his death was confirmed. His remains were never found.
There are numerous letters from a Jessie Allen in his service file, seeking information as to his fate, she said in one letter she was “Pte. Chapman’s intended wife and we were to be married when he returned.”
Alfred’s war medals were awarded to his sister, Nellie, who wrote and said both parents were deceased, and she had reared her younger brother until his enlistment. She also received his identity disc in March 1918, a note in his service file simply says, “Disc received by effects, taken from body by Graves Registration Working Party”.