CHAPPELL, Alfred Hart
| Service Number: | 3031 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 July 1915, Blackboy Hill, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, April 1894 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Boorara State School |
| Occupation: | Labourer (timber mill) |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Mouquet Farm, France, 3 September 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Coorow Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France), West Leederville War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3031, Blackboy Hill, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Sep 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 3031, 11th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' |
|
| 13 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3031, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Fremantle | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3031, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Mouquet Farm, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3031 awm_unit: 51 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-09-03 |
Alfie Hart Chappell (1893-1916) Story
Private Alfred "Alfie" Hart Chappell (1893-1916) enlisted on 7 July 1915 at Blackboy Hill, Western Australia. He was a 22 year old labourer and his step-mother Edith Ann Chappell was nominated as his next of kin; she lived at 10 St Leonards Avenue, West Leederville.
Alfie joined the 51st Battalion that was raised in Egypt in the first week of March 1916, as part of the doubling of the AIF. Approximately half of its recruits were Gallipoli veterans from the 11th Battalion, and the other half, fresh reinforcements from Australia. The 51st was predominantly composed of men from Western Australia. The battalion then became part of the 13th Brigade of the newly-formed 4th Australian Division.
Arriving in France on 12 June 1916, the 51st moved into the trenches of the Western Front within a fortnight. It fought in its first major battle at Mouquet Farm in August and September, and suffered casualties equivalent to a third of its strength in both of the attacks (14 August and 3 September).
Alfie was killed in the second of those battles, on 3 September 1916. He was 23 years old. He is commemorated at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.
Submitted 28 September 2015 by Virginia Miltrup
Biography
"...3031 Private Alfred Hart Chappell, 51st Battalion, of Perth, Western Australia. A timber mill worker prior to enlistment on 7 July 1915, Chappell embarked in October with the 11th Battalion aboard HMAS Themistocles (A32). He was transferred to the 51st Battalion as part of the 'doubling-up' of the AIF in February 1916, and sent to France for service on the Western Front several months later. Pte Chappell was killed in action at Mouquet Farm on 3 September 1916, and has no known grave." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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