RODGERS, Alan Chamberlain
| Service Number: | 1493 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Marryatville, Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Palestine, Belgium, 2 November 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Beersheba War Cemetery, Israel and Palestine (including Gaza) Beersheba War Cemetery, Beersheba, Israel, Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Adelaide University of Adelaide WW1 Honour Roll, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Jamestown St James Anglican Church Stained Glass Windows and Turner Brothers Memorial, Torrens Park Kyre (Scotch) College Great War Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 1493, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 1493, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Benalla, Adelaide | |
| 2 Nov 1917: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 1493, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1493 awm_unit: 3rd Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-11-02 |
Biography
Early Life
Alan Chamberlain Rodgers was born on the 3rd May 1894 at Port Victor, South Australia, the son of Thomas Rodgers and Frances Elizabeth Chamberlain.
His siblings were Thomas (1882), Frances (1884), Cecil (1885), Ivy (1887) Dorothy (1889) all born at Edithburgh, SA and Winniefred (1891) and Laurence (1896) who were born at Port Victor/Victor Harbor, SA.
Alan’s father Thomas Rodgers was a School Teacher and Head Master. He taught at Edithburgh, Port Victor, Millicent, Jamestown, Quorn and Marryatville.
Schooling
It is likely that Alan commenced his schooling at Millicent in 1902 as his father Thomas was the Head Master that year. Alan gained full marks in Class II at the Millicent School in 1903.
The family then moved to Jamestown where Alan passed the Division B Monitors Examination in December 1907 and Primary Examinations in Geography, English History & Algebra in October 1909.
The family then moved to Quorn in April 1912. It is unclear when Alan commenced at Kyre College (now Scotch College), Adelaide.
He passed the Senior Examination in Modern History in December Dec 1914.
In March 1915 he passed the Special Senior Examinations in Arithmetic & Algebra and English Literature under the tutorship of Mr GG Newman.
University
Alan was studying toward a Bachelor of Science at The University of Adelaide when he enlisted in 1915.
World War I
Alan was a 21 year old student on the 16th June 1915 when he enlisted. He was a Senior Cadet with the 74th Bn/74th Inf (still serving) at that time. He was 5’10½”, 154 lbs with a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair.
With Service Number 1493 he became a member of the 11th Reinforcement of the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, AIF. He embarked with his Unit of the 27th October 1915 onboard HMAT A24 “Benalla”.
He arrived in Egypt on the 29th December 1915 and was absorbed into the Regiment and proceeded to join the Western Frontier Force at Khatatba (43 kms north of Cairo).
From the 1 June to the 14 August 1916 he was attached to the 1st Signal Troop at Romani. The Battle of Romani took place 3-5 August 1916 37kms east of the Suez Canal. He then rejoined the 3rd Light Horse at Romani.
In late January or early February 1917 he was appointed Lance Corporal at El Arish (344 kilometres (214 mi) northeast of Cairo).
On the 12th Jul 1917 while at El Gemli he was admonished because he was “bathing alongside drinking water in Wadi Guzze” (near Gaza).
Death
On the 31st October 1917, the 3rd Light Horse Brigade was involved in the Battle of Beersheba, fighting in Palestine as part of the Desert Mounted Corps. On that day Alan received a gunshot wound to the head. He was treated at the New Zealand Mounted Field Ambulance and the 65th Casualty Clearing Station.
Alan died of wounds received in action on the 2nd November 1917 and was buried at the El Amara Cemetery, Palestine.
After the armistice Alan’s body was moved to the Beersheba War Cemetery, 75 kilometres south-west of Jerusalem.
Sources
GenealogySA https://www.genealogysa.org.au
National Archives of Australia
recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8035836
National Archives of Australia Trove
Articles tagged Alan Chamberlain Rodgers and Thomas Rodgers Headmaster
State Library of South Australia
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+23139
Author: EE (Beth) Filmer, Adelaide, South Australia
Note: Unfortunately no named photograph of Alan Chamberlain Rodgers has been located but he is likely to be one of the soldiers in the group photograph of the 11th Reinforcement, 3rd Light Horse taken at the Mitcham Camp in 1915 held by the SLSA.
Submitted 28 May 2025 by Eleanor Filmer