Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"Word has been received that Pte. A. G. Townley, of Streaky Bay, has been wounded. No particulars are to hand regarding the nature of the wounds. The address of Private Townley is— No. 1103. Private A. G. Townley, "B" Company, 27th Battalion, Australian Imperial Forces, abroad." - from the Streaky Bay West Coast Sentinel 06 Jul 1918 (nla.gov.au)

Alfred George Townley was a soldier who fought in the international conflict known as the First World War (1914 - 1918). He was born on the 17th of January 1888 and enlisted at the age of 27 years and two months. He had worked as a labourer, a trade involving manual labour usually in the industries of construction and factory. Upon enlistment, his marital status was that of single, and as he did not have any children his next of kin was his mother, Alice Townley. Townley enlisted on the 1st of March in 1915.Upon enlisting he was assigned to the 27th Battalion with the service number 1103. The 27th Infantry Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Walter Dollman VD. 

As Townley was a part of the 27th Infantry Battalion, he was sent to train in Mitcham camp Accommodating over 4000 troops for up to 12 weeks, at Mitcham camp, soldiers would train in field patrols, bayonet fighting, bomb-throwing, and trench digging. The Battalion trained for a little over a month and after weeks of extensive training, the Battalion embarked on the HMAT Geelong A2 on the 31st of May 1915, for Egypt where further training was undergone.

The first conflict that Townley had fought in was the Gallipoli campaign. In September of 1915, Townley landed at ANZAC Cove along with the 27th Battalion. Where they would fight with a downhill disadvantage, and against heavy artillery, machine guns, and shrapnel weapons. Four men of the 27th Battalion were lost on the 14th of September by a Turkish sniper. From the 15th to the 27th of October, they had endured heavy shelling and shrapnel with many wounded. By the 16th of December, the [SU1] 27th Battalion retreated from Gallipoli with not a single life lost during the escape. However, 8,700 ANZACs lost their lives, and 18,000 troops were wounded during the campaign. Although this campaign is renowned for being Australia’s first major action in WWI, it is also known for being unsuccessful.

Townley was promoted to Lance Corporal on 9/8/1916 and reverted to private 9 days later. 10 months later on 26/6/1917, he was again appointed Lance Corporal. On 3/6/1916 Townley proceeded to England on leave, and rejourned battle from leave on 17/6/1916.

The Battle of Pozieres was fought from the 23rd of July 1916 to the 3rd of September 1916. The aim was for the British and Australian forces to divert the attention of the Germans from Verdun, France. The 27th Battalion fought on the left flank of the 2nd division and was able to gain high ground by taking advantage of the ruins of  the 17th-century windmill. After capturing it relentless artillery fire and counterattacks were exploited. Although the battle of Pozieres was ultimately a victory, the number of casualties was 23,000. The victory of Pozieres had begun the Battle of Verdun, a long and brutal war with hundreds of thousands of deaths. Ultimately, this had been a victory for the French as they had halted the offensive advance of the Germans.

During his time in the military Townley was injured a couple of times. One of which was on the 13th of June 1918 in France. He sustained a mild gunshot wound to the thigh; the gunshot may have been shrapnel or a machine gun bullet. Townley had spent roughly 12 days in hospital. On July 5th it was then until he was able to be treated at Woking Military Hospital, England. On 14/10/16 Townley was sick with pharyngitis which is a pain in the throat accompanied by infections like the flu or a cold, he recovered two days later.

Townley went on to fight in the Second World War. Townley died in 1964, on the 19th of November at the age of 76 years and 10 months.