S4699
LEWIS, Ernest Albert
| Service Number: | 1859 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 41st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | South Australia, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Longwood, Adelaide Hills, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Gardener |
| Died: | 8 August 1960, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Port Pirie General Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Lower North Adelaide War Memorial WW1, North Adelaide Christ Church Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 1859, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 1859, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 1859, 41st Infantry Battalion | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 1859, 41st Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cornerstone College
Ernest Albert LEWIS
Ernest Albert Lewis was born in 1881 in Stirling East, South Australia. Lewis was the Son of Hannah Jackson who was his closest known relative. Lewis grew up in Longwood which is in the South-Eastern part of the Adelaide Hills and grew up in a Roman Catholic household.
Lewis was around 161cm in height and 96kg in weight. Lewis had a shade of Hazel coloured eyes and Dark brown coloured hair.
Lewis was a single, unmarried man who lived on his own while his mother Hannah had moved to live on Stanley Street North Adelaide, South Australia.
Lewis worked as a gardener until he was the age of 35 and a half, when he got enlisted on the 22nd of May 1916 to go and fight in WW1 and serve along the western front. Lewis’s regimental number was1859 with a private enlistment rank. Lewis’s unit was the 43rd Battalion, 2nd reinforcement.
Lewis embarked to the Western Front from Adelaide on board the HMAT A70 Ballarat on the 12th of August 1916 where he spent the next few years serving and fighting in the war.
Lewis was considered healthy in the medical examination they did before he was sent to war and was considered active for service. Lewis signed off on May the 22nd 1916, that he agreed to follow all of the military requirements and to fight against his majesty’s enemies.
Lewis went to war with no previous experiences of fighting in the Army previously so he went to WW1 with no background knowledge, this could have been considered quite risky but he didn’t have the option of staying home.
Throughout Lewis’s time at war he spent numerous times in hospital sick or with a fever and a few minor injuries. He moved around a bit and unjoined and re-joined his battalion.
Whilst fighting in World War 1 Lewis received several award rolls and medal including; a Victory medal, Star medal and a British War medal.
Lewis returned home safely to Australia from serving in WW1 on the 31st of March 1919 and was considered one of the lucky ones to return home in reasonable conditions as many were severely injured and thousands were killed with their bodies not respectfully being disposed and memorialized. Lewis was never able to forget conditions and experiences he faced at war.
Lewis died at the age of 79 on the 8th of August 1960 and was buried in Port Pirie cemetery.
Bibliography
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=175743
23/11/16
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8198467&isAv=N
25/11/16
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