ANDERSON, Albert Robert
| Service Number: | 1668 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Tarranginnie, Victoria, Australia, 19 January 1897 |
| Home Town: | Nhill, Hindmarsh, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Nhill State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Contractor |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 31 May 1918, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Allonville Communal Cemetery Allonville Communal Cemetery Row B, Grave 2, Allonville Communal Cemetery, Allonville, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1668, 29th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1668, 29th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Melbourne | |
| 31 May 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1668, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1668 awm_unit: 14 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-05-31 | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 29th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 14th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières |
Help us honour Albert Robert Anderson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Albert Robert Anderson’s parents were Robert Anderson and Harriet Sophia Tylden Chisholm of Tarranginnie near Nhill in Victoria. Sophia was a sister to Robert’s first wife Edith who died at the age of 23. Private Albert Robert Anderson had a half-brother from the first marriage, Lance Corporal William Leslie Anderson who was killed in action on 10 May 1917.
Albert was killed by the first shell during the ‘Allonville disaster’. In the early hours of 31 May 1918, German artillery fired 7 or 8 high velocity, likely 9 inch, shells towards the village of Allonville which is a few miles to the north east of Amiens. Two of the shells hit with devastating effect. The first of these caused the highest number of casualties from a single shell in the whole of the AIF - 69 men of A company, 14th Battalion. 13 men were killed outright and a further 12 died from their wounds (8 within hours of the attack). The second shell caused 17 casualties with at least 4 killed.
Biography
29 Battalion
Rank - Private
4 March 1916 taken on strengtj 29 Battalion from 14 Battalion
1 June 1916 proceed to Alexandria on board Haverford
8 June 1916 disembarked Marseilles
15 April 1917 to hospital - cellulitus on the foot
30 September 1917 admitted to hospital - trench feet
14 October 1917 rejoined unit
Medals: British War Medals, Victory Medal
Son of Robert and Sophia Anderson, Nhill, Victoria
Click images to start slideshow.