BOREHAM, Alfred James
| Service Number: | 3350 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 February 1917, Ballarat, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 8th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Ballarat, Vic., 1892 |
| Home Town: | Buangor, Ararat, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Bolinda School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 1968, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ararat Shire of Ararat WWI Roll of Honor, Bolinda State School Honour Roll, Buangor Roll of Honour, Romsey Soldiers Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Feb 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3350, 8th Light Horse Regiment, Ballarat, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 3350, 8th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 3350, 8th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne |
Help us honour Alfred James Boreham's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Peter Sneddon
Alfred James Boreham was an unmarried labourer when he joined the armed forces in February 1917. He was living in Banguor at the time though his family remained at Lancefield Junction. Alfred was born in 1892 to William James Boreham and Hope David Cox (married 1881). He was the fourth of eleven children : Frederick William (b. 1882), Thomas (b. 1884), Ernest David (b. 1887), Francis Ellen (b. 1894), Mabel Hope (b. 1896), Emily Rose (b. 1898), George (b. 1899), Benjamin (b. 1900), Leslie Charles (b. 1903) and Harold Edgar (b. 1906). He attended Bolinda School in the early 1900s as did his siblings, Ben, Emily, Frances, George, Harold, Leslie and Mabel.
Shortly after enlisting in the army, Alfred was transferred to the Light Horse Infantry. He embarked on the “Port Lincoln” in June 1917 bound for India and Egypt. It was noted on his admission form that he was suffering from deafness, particularly in his left ear, and his deafness was noted several times in his Active Service Forms. In early 1919, Alfred returned to Australia on the “Euripides” and was discharged from duty in June 1919. Whilst on his tour of duty, Boreham kept a short diary. Much of the diary reads as if he is on a grand vacation rather than partaking in the Great War. He talks of visiting bazaars and markets, zoos, mosques, pyramids and beautiful countryside.
Alfred appears to have returned to farming in Buangor upon his discharge from the army. He married Dora Elizabeth Rees in 1920 with whom he had two children, Gwendoline Elizabeth (b. 1921) and Dorothy Hope (b. 1924). By the mid-1920s, the family had relocated to Nerring where Alfred worked as a labourer and Dora took care of the home. By 1931, Alfred had taken a position as a caretaker at the Ballarat Showgrounds when it was located on Lake Wendouree, along Wendouree Parade, before it was moved to its current location in 1934. Alfred continued as caretaker after the showgrounds were relocated to Howitt Street. By the early 1940s, the family had moved to Wendouree where Alfred worked as a postal employee, a situation that continued into the 1950s. In 1963, Alfred and Dora are listed as living in Ringwood, by which time Alfred appears to have
retired. Alfred died in 1968.
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