MERRIEL, Alfred Alexander
| Service Number: | 358 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 February 1915, Machine Gun Section |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Fifield, New South Wales, Australia, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Fifield, Lachlan, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Horse driver |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 20 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Bedford House Cemetery, Flanders, Belgium Plot XI, Row A, Grave No. 27. IN MEMORY OF OUR DARLING SON AND BROTHER GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mascot War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 358, 18th Infantry Battalion, Machine Gun Section | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 358, 18th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 358, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney |
Help us honour Alfred Alexander Merriel's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Alfred was the son of James Alfred and Emily Jane Merriel, of Mascot, New South Wales, but had been born at raised in the small town of Fifield, in central New South Wales.
His younger brother, 1376 Sergeant William Merriel 13th Battalion AIF was later killed in action in France on 2 July 1918, aged 24.
Alfred landed on Gallipoli with the 18th Battalion on 16 August 1915 and the unit was soon involved in very heavy fighting near Hill 60. Alfred must have suffered terribly with shell shock as he was evacuated as ‘temporarily insane’ only a few weeks later. He shipped to the Reading War Hospital in England. He eventually rejoined the 18th Battalion in France during May 1916.
Alfred was seen to be killed early in the morning of 20 September 1917, the Battle of Menin Road, and according to his Red Cross wounded and missing file, he was shot close to Anzac Ridge at around five o’clock in the morning.
He had no known burial at the time but the Imperial War Graves people discovered his remains during 1922 and his identity disc was sent to his mother in July 1923.