HORNER, Alexander
| Service Number: | 3369 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 July 1915, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Bombardier |
| Last Unit: | 15th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Clunes, Victoria, Australia, 1890 |
| Home Town: | Clunes, Hepburn, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stove Fitter |
| Died: | 1 April 1960, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Clunes Soldiers Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3369, 7th Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3369, 7th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3369, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne | |
| 26 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 59th Infantry Battalion, Egypt | |
| 17 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 15th Field Artillery Brigade , Egypt | |
| 4 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Bombardier, 15th Field Artillery Brigade , Egypt | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 3369, 15th Field Artillery Brigade , Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| 25 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Bombardier, 3369, 15th Field Artillery Brigade , Fromelles (Fleurbaix), Multiple SW to right forearm, thigh and knee (later amputated) during German counter battery fire near Fleurbaix. Evacuated to UK. | |
| 2 Aug 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Bombardier, 3369, 15th Field Artillery Brigade , RTA 4 May 1917 and discharged as MU (wounds). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Alexander Horner, aged 25, enlisted in the AIF in Melbourne on 17 July 1915. He embarked overseas on 11 October and arrived in Egypt around the time of the withdrawal from Gallipoli. He was initially transferred to the 59th Battalion on 26 February 1916, however a few weeks later, on 17 March, he was re-mustered as a Gunner and taken on strength of the 15th Field Artillery Brigade in Egypt. He was promoted to Bombardier on 4 May 1916.
The brigade left Egypt on 17 June and arrived in Marseilles, France on 24 June 1916, and was immediately sent to the north of France near the Belgian border.
He was involved in the AIF’s first major action on the Western Front, the disastrous 5th Division attack at Fromelles, on 19 July 1916 and then remained in the vicinity of Fleurbaix for several months. While still in this area, Bombardier Horner was seriously wounded on 25 August 1916 when he was hit by shrapnel in multiple parts of his body – the right forearm, thigh and knee – the latter of which was amputated after he was evacuated to hospital in England in early October 1916.
He remained in hospital until his embarkation for Australia on 4 May 1917. He arrived back in Melbourne on 24 July, where he was medically discharged from the AIF on 2 August 1917.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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