HICKS, Alfred Philip
| Service Number: | 7000 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 April 1916, Enlisted at Bathurst, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, 10 September 1884 |
| Home Town: | Bathurst, Bathurst Regional, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Employee |
| Died: | Died of wounds - Ganrenous lungs and Heart Failure, Dover Military Hospital, Western Height, Dover, United Kingdom, 8 May 1918, aged 33 years |
| Cemetery: |
Little Cornard (All Saints) Churchyard Near to the north west church buttress Rev. W. Benkee-Williams Undertaker was R. Pepper of Victoria Crescent, Dover, England. Coffin was made of good polished elm, Little Cornard (All Saints) Churchyard, Little Cornard, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bathurst War Memorial Carillon, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7000, 13th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Bathurst, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 7000, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 7000, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 12 Jun 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 7000, 13th Infantry Battalion, Originally diagnosed as exhaustion but later confirmed as Shell Shock | |
| 1 Apr 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 7000, 13th Infantry Battalion, Gunshot wounds to the face and lungs |
Help us honour Alfred Philip Hicks's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Philip Hicks of Bathurst, NSW. Husband of Nellie Hicks of 142 Keppel Street, Bathurst, NSW, later of Auburn NSW and known as Nellie Brown. Father of Marie Hicks and Ethel Hicks
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Alfred Phillip HICKS, (Service Number 7000) was born on 10th September 1884, in Bathurst NSW. He began working with the Railways on 30th September 1910 as a fuelman in Bathurst in the Locomotive Branch. He changed position once, to a labourer. On 4th April 1916, he was released from duty from the Railways to enlist in the AIF. He was 31-years-old when he enlisted.
He embarked from Sydney on 25th November 1916 on HMAT A72 ‘Beltana’. His disembarked at Devonport (England) on 29th January 1917. He went to France from Folkestone, England, on 13th March 1917. He was taken on strength of his Battalion on 18th March. During the second half of 1917, he spent a lot of time in hospital for various ailments. On 12th June 1917, he was taken to hospital sick, and two days later in Belgium he was diagnosed with shell shock and exhaustion. He re-joined his unit on 12th July, but he was not in the field long before being readmitted to hospital on 27th August, for rheumatism and scabies. Once again, he re-joined his unit on 19th September in France, but ended up back in hospital on 3rd November, with scabies and pyrexia. He re-joined his unit again on 29th November 1917.
After spending some of January 1918 on leave in France, he was injured on 1st April. He received gunshot wounds to the face and was admitted to a casualty clearing station for treatment. On 6th May 1918, he was sent to England because of these injuries. He was also admitted for empyema. It was these wounds that would kill him on 8th May 1918, in England. At his time of death, he had gunshot wounds to his cheeks, empyema, gangrene in his lungs, and heart failure. He died in the Dover Military Hospital and was buried in the All Saints Parish Churchyard, Little Conard, Sudbury. He was given a military funeral.
‘The deceased soldier was accorded a Military Funeral. The coffin was draped with the Union Jack, and surmounted by several beautiful wreaths, sent by deceased’s: - Father & Mother. (Australia). Uncles, Aunts, and cousins of Sudbury. Firing Party & Bugler were present. Prior to the interment a service was held by the Revd. W. Banks-Williams. The church choir were also present.
The grave will be turfed and an Oak cross erected by the A.I.F. London. Administrative Headquarters, A.I.F., London, were represented at the funeral.’
His wife received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal after his death, in honour of his service. Hicks had a daughter, Ethel. His widow had re-married by 1922.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Central Station Honour Board.
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