DUDLEY, Alfred George
| Service Number: | 4178 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 July 1915, Ballarat, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Walhalla, Victoria, Australia, 31 January 1897 |
| Home Town: | Corindhap, Golden Plains, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Corindhap Public School |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Bullecourt, France, 11 April 1917, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Corindhap Avenue of Honour Monument, Corindhap Boys Pictorial Roll of Honour, Shelford Shire of Leigh Roll of Honor, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4178, Ballarat, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4178, 14th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Dec 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4178, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Melbourne | |
| 6 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4178, 14th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , Participated in the battle for Pozieres. | |
| 28 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4178, 14th Infantry Battalion, Mouquet Farm, GSW (right upper arm) | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4178, 14th Infantry Battalion, Bullecourt (First), Killed in Action first battle for Bullecourt France. Suffered machine gun wound to the stomach. His body was never recovered from the battlefield. |
4178 Alfred George Dudley
Alfred George Dudley
Born 31 January 1897 in Walhalla Victoria.
Parents: Henry Ward and Emily Elizabeth Dudley.
Occupation: Miner
Enlisted 6 July 1915 at Ballarat.
14th Battalion AIF “Nicknamed the Sportsmen’s Thousand.
13th Reinforcements.
Private 4178.
D Company 14 Platoon 6 Section.
Embarked on HMAT A64 Demosthenes 29 December 1915 To Egypt Via Ceylon (Sir Lanka).
Arrived in Egypt 30 January 1916
Joined Battalion at Tel El Kebir Egypt 4 March 1916.
Sailed from Alexandria Egypt On the SS Transylvania to Marseilles France 1st June 1916.
Participated in the battle for Poziere 6th to the 16th August 1916.
Wounded in the upper arm during action at the battle for Mouquet Farm France 28 August 1916.
Sent to Cambridge Hospital Aldershot and Perham Downs 2nd September 1916.
Posted Missing in Action 11 April 1917 1st Battle of Bullecourt
Reported Killed in Action 7th November 1917 By Co 14th Battalion in the Field.
Has no known grave and lies in the wheat fields west of Bullecourt France.
His name appears on the Australian Memorial wall at Villers Bretonneux France. This Memorial is for those soldiers whose body was not recovered from the battlefields of France where they fell.
Submitted 23 January 2017 by Alan Dudley
Biography contributed by Alan Dudley
Alfred joined the A.I.F on the same day as his brother William who went to the 4th Light Horse Brigade. He embarked with the 13th re-inforcements of the 14th Infantry Battalion. This Battalion was a purely Victorian unit and was knicknamed the "Sportsmans thousand". Both men came from Corindhap Victoria and travelled to Ballarat to enlist.
The Battalion had in its midst the first Australian to earn the Victoria Cross Lance Corporal Albert Jacka. Albert Jacka actually appears on the WW1 memorial at Corindhap, maybe they knew each other. Alf was known as "Dud" in the Battalion.
He sailed with the Battalion re-inforcements to Egypt where he joined the old hands of the Battalion. Where the 14th Battalion was at Gallipoli from the beginning to the end and suffered heavy casualties but also distinguished themselves in battle.
The Battalion travelled to the Somme where Alf participated in 3 major actions. On arrival on the Somme Alf saw and participtaed in some skirmishes.
Pozieres was Alfs real taste of trench warfare when the Battalion held the frontline at Pozieres from the 6th - 16th July 1916. On the first night they were shelled for eight hours straight this preceded a large German offensive on the front. This was eventually repelled but led to days of constant artillery barrages and attacks by the Germans.
Mouquet Farm was different for Alf as this was probably the first time they had gone on the offensive. The diggers achieved some of their objectives but High Command failed to provide much needed artillery and ammunition resupply. This forced them to give up the hard earned ground they had fought for. Alf was wounded in this engagement suffering a bullet wound to his upper right arm.
Alf was sent to England for treatment and returned to the Battalion just in time for the first battle of Bullecourt.
This battle was a farce from the start it was also the first offensive where tanks were to be employed. It was also the first time the battalion fought alongside its sister Battalions. The 13th, 15th and the 16th Battalions A.I.F.
On the morning of the 10 APR 17 the men left thier trenches and went out to the jump-off tape. Unfortunately the tanks could not meet the deadline so the men retreated back to the trenches the Germans noticed this.
High Command ordered the Battalions to carry out the same attack the next morning.
This cost the lives of many young Australians including Alf who died after being hit by machine gun fire suffering an injury to his stomach.
He died in a shell hole and still lies there.
Unfortunately I have not been able to gather any personal insights on Alf and his reasons for enlisting. I can only speculate that he did so to see the world go on an adventure and be paid. This is the reason a lot of young men enlisted.
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