NEWLAND, Alfred Lindsay
| Service Number: | 656 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 February 1915, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 6th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Pomberneit, Victoria, Australia, 13 September 1894 |
| Home Town: | Laverton, Hobsons Bay, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Laverton, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed In Action (German Shell), Factory Corner, Ligny Thilloy, France, 8 November 1916, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
AIF Burial Ground, Grass Lane, Flers, France Plot 10, Row L, Grave 1 |
| Memorials: | Altona Meadows Laverton Honour Roll, Altona Meadows NEWLAND Memorial Plaque, Altona Meadows Old Laverton School Honour Board, Werribee Shire Great War Roll of Honor, Werribee St Thomas' Church of England Honor Board |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 656, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 656, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 8 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 6th Machine Gun Company, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 6th Australian Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-11-08 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Rob Newland
Killed In Action Event Details for Lin Newland
On 8 November 1916, 2nd Lieutenant (Lin) Newland and his Lewis gun crew of the 6th Machine Gun Company AIF were showing 2nd Lieutenant Frederick William Hordern Matthews DCM the lay of the land, 50 yards, (46 metres) west of Factory Corner, Ligny Thilloy, one mile north of Flers, Somme, France. The Germans would have a ‘Five Minute of Madness’s’ of bombardment which the two groups of soldiers were caught in during the relief of No.3 section by the No.2 section led by 2nd Lieutenant Alfred Lindsay (Lin) Newland.
Killed by the enemy shell were;
1. 2nd Lieutenant Alfred Lindsay (Lin) Newland; service number 656, from Laverton, Victoria.
2. 2nd Lieutenant Frederick William Hordern Matthews DCM; service number 21, from Heidelberg, Victoria.
3. Sergeant James William Taylor; service number 457, from Shepparton, Victoria.
4. Private Herbert Buckley; service number 94, from Kerang, Victoria.
5. Private Arthur Francis Anders; service number 1280 late 454, from Deniliquin, NSW.
Private Edmond Rodda service number 525, from Daylesford, VIC. was wounded in the event.
This was Mathews third and final bombing that he had experienced when he was killed.
He had won his DCM by digging out his fallen comrades including his two brothers whilst continuing to fire his Lewis gun during a previous bombing which he survived.
After Private Edmond Rodda recovered from a gunshot wound to his right buttock received during the ‘five minutes of Madness’s’ on the 8th November, he joined the 2nd Machine Gun Battalion during 1917 as a driver and returned to Australia in 1919.
All the lost men are buried next to each other in Plot 10 Row L, at the A.I.F. Burial Ground, Grass Lane Cemetery, Gueudecourt, Somme, France; not far from where they fell at Factory Corner where the original grave was marked shortly after the event.
During 2016 I contacted the Australian War Graves Commission and had Lin’s headstone altered to show the correct date of his loss.
Source: National Archives of Australia Soldier Records and 6th MCG Diaries “In Good Company; The 6th Machine Gun Company AIF” Author: W. A. Carne
Werribee Shire Banner Thursday 30 November 1916, page 2
Biography
13/08/1918 Brought to the notice of the Secretary of State for War, for valuable services rendered. A.I.F. List 372/8-20/8/18
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