KEITH, Alexander Brown
| Service Numbers: | 627, 2596 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Blantyre, Scotland, November 1884 |
| Home Town: | Merewether, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Cooks Hill Superior Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Machineman |
| Died: | 48 King Street, Newcastle, N.S.W., 21 September 1940, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, NSW PRESBYTERIAN-23SW. 73. |
| Memorials: | Cook's Hill Superior Public School , Merewether Memorial Gates, Teralba War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 627, 13th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 627, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 627, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 26 Apr 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2596, 13th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, GSW to right knee, slight | |
| 19 Jan 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 627, 13th Infantry Battalion, Medically unfit | |
| 23 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2596, 36th Infantry Battalion, MU Discharged from 13th inf Bn, after Gallipoli | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2596, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2596, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney | |
| 12 Aug 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2596, 36th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Alexander Brown Keith's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
An Original Anzac, now resting at Sandgate Cemetery.
81 years ago today, on the Sunday afternoon of the 22nd September 1940 (4 funerals on this day), Private Alexander Brown Keith, also known as Sandy, 36th Battalion (Reg No-627 & 2596), miner and machineman from Ranclaud Street, Merewether, New South Wales and 48 King Street, Newcastle, N.S.W., was laid to rest at Sandgate Cemetery, age 56. PRESBYTERIAN-23SW. 73.
Born at Blantyre, Scotland about 1884 to John and C(K)atherine Keith; husband of Violet May Keith nee Rees of 127 Darby Street, Newcastle, N.S.W. (married 1907, Merewether, N.S.W., died?), Sandy enlisted September 1914 with the 13th Battalion (Reg No-627) at Roseberry Park, N.S.W.
Sandy returned home August 1915, being discharged medically unfit on the 19th January 1916.
Sandy reenlisted on the 18th July 1916 at Newcastle, N.S.W., returning home May 1917, being discharged on the 12th August 1917, but reported reenlisting and leaving soon for the front, 36th Infantry Battalion (Reg No-2596 - same day as brother John?)
Mr. Keith’s name has been inscribed on the Cooks Hill Superior Public School Roll of Honour, Newcastle South Public School Roll of Honour, Merewether (Mitchell Park) Memorial Gates (photos, unveiled on the 12th March 1921, 322 names originally inscribed, 335 names now inscribed, 44 Fallen), Teralba Soldiers' Memorial and The Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall.
Sandy’s gravesite plaque proudly tells us of being an Original Anzac, and I have placed poppies in remembrance of his service and sacrifice for God, King and Country.
Younger brother John (36th & 34th Battalions, Reg No-2598, born 1891, Merewether, N.S.W., died 1932, Digger's Camp, Cooks Hill, N.S.W.) also resting at the cemetery, once an unmarked grave, now officially commemorated, his Honour and Dignity restored. PRESBYTERIAN-10NW. 76.
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.