S17778
FOWLER, Alfred John
| Service Number: | 3491 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 August 1915, at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Plympton, South Australia, Australia, March 1897 |
| Home Town: | Edwardstown, Marion, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Field Survey hand |
| Died: | 30 April 1964, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Edwardstown District WW1 Roll of Honor, Marion District Roll of Honour WW1, Plympton District Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3491, 27th Infantry Battalion, at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 3491, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Jan 1916: | Embarked Private, 3491, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Borda, Adelaide | |
| 25 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3491, 10th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , GSW arm and back | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 3491, 10th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Alfred John Fowler's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Before service:
Alfred John Fowler was 18 years old, born in Plympton, South Australia. He left his will to his father, Alfred Lewellyn Fowler and his heritage was most likely Welsh as Lewellyn is a Welsh name. His occupation before joining the war was a field survey hand which means he helped a surveyor do their job by gathering data on the fields. He served was in the cadets for an unknown amount of time but could have been serving from the age of 14. He was discharged from the cadets as his left eye was weak. He was 5 ft 3 which was a bit short of the average height of a soldier. His complexion was fair, his eyes were blue, and his hair was brown. His mother wrote a note saying “I give my son Alfred John Fowler my consent to enlist.” This means his family knew about him enlisting in the war and gave him consent, which was probably very hard for a family to do that.
During the war:
Alfred John Fowler enlisted on the 19th of August 1915 and received as his regimental number is 3491. He was then transferred from the 27th Battalion to the 10th Battalion on the 28th of January 1916.
The 10th infantry battalion was part of the 3rd brigade and since Alfred only arrived in Egypt in 1916, he was trained in Egypt and didn’t fight in Gallipoli. In March 1916 the 10th battalion sailed to France on the HMAT A30 Borda and arrived at Marseilles in early April. They undertook training at Strazeele then to Godewaersvelde and then to Sailly-sur-la-Lys. In mid-May the battalion occupied in the Petillon Sector where they were shelled and 3 were killed and 7 wounded. In July 1916 the battalion faced its first significant battle which was the battle of Pozieres. In this battle Alfred had a gun shot wound to his arm and back which was so bad that made it necessary for him to return to Australia.
He returned to Australia on one of its hospital ships which was H.S Karoola. The H.S means hospital ship and they were used primarily to transport injured soldiers. He was discharged from the AIF on on 5th April 1917.
After the war:
Alfred John Fowler received multiple medals after the war. He received a star medal which is for serving in 1914/1915. He received a victory medal which soldiers receive if they win the war. His last medal that he received was the British war medal which was awarded to all those who served in the British army.