WIGHT, Gordon
| Service Number: | 1930 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 February 1916, Enlisted five days after being discharged as medically unfit (TB on right lung) from the 24th Battalion AIF. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 39th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 17 December 1897 |
| Home Town: | Ballarat, Central Highlands, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Geelong, 2 March 1974, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Geelong Eastern Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1930, 39th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted five days after being discharged as medically unfit (TB on right lung) from the 24th Battalion AIF. | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 1930, 39th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 16 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 1930, 39th Infantry Battalion, RMS Orontes, Melbourne | |
| 16 Aug 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 39th Infantry Battalion, Promoted to Acting Corporal | |
| 28 Apr 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1930, 39th Infantry Battalion, Subjected to heavy German artillery (including gas) at Ploegsteert Wood, Belgium. | |
| 24 Jan 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1930, 39th Infantry Battalion, Admitted to hospital following enemy action (gas attack) at Ploegsteert Wood, Belgium on 28 April 1917. Invalided back to Australia 27 July 1917 and medically discharged from AIF on 24 January 1918 (TB on both lungs). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Gordon Wight (real name Albert Gordon Wight) enlisted at Ballarat Vic on 14 February 1916 aged 18 years (only five days after being discharged as medically unfit - TB on right lung - from the 24th Battalion AIF on 9 February 1916).
Allocated to the 39th Battalion AIF, he was promoted to acting Corporal on 16 August 1916 (believed to be due to his proficiency with the bayonet) and arrived in England on 2 October 1916.
The acting rank was terminated on 27 October 1916 when, as the family understands it, he failed to salute an officer at the gate of Lark Hill camp late one night, as his arms were full of wine bottles from a foray into town.
He arrived in France 27 November 1916 and moved into the front lines at Houplines on 10 December 1916, until February 1917.
He returned to the front lines at Ploegsteert Wood on 28 April 1917 where the battalion came under heavy German artillery fire, including gas shells, and repelled several large German raiding parties.
Possibly provoked by the gas attacks, his TB flared up again (now on both lungs) and he was admitted to No 2 AGH Wimereux, France on 10 May 1917.
Following another two months in hospital in England, he embarked for Australia on 27 July 1917, where he was eventually discharged (medically unfit for service) on 24 January 1918.
Reverting to his correct name, Albert Gordon Wight, he would go on to father 10 children (who themselves had numerous grand children) and lived into his 80's in Geelong Vic.
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