GOURLEY, Alfred James
| Service Number: | 2180 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 58th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Warragul, Victoria, Australia, 8 May 1882 |
| Home Town: | Sea View, Baw Baw, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia, 23 March 1966, aged 83 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Wangaratta Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Warragul Great European War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2180, 59th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2180, 59th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2180, 59th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Orsova, Melbourne | |
| 24 Apr 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2180, 58th Infantry Battalion, France: GSW thigh and back | |
| 8 Jan 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2180, 58th Infantry Battalion, embarked England for Melbourne on board HT Orsova | |
| 6 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2180, 58th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Alfred James Gourley (Service No:2180) enlisted in the AIF at Warragul, Victoria on 29 April 1916 and was attached to 59th Infantry Battalion when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Plymouth on board HMAT A67 Orsova on 1 August 1916. Private Gourley served on the Western Front, and was attached to 59th Infantry Battalion in France when he was WiA (GSW thigh and Back) on 24 April 1918. Invalided to the UK, Private Gourley embarked from England for Melbourne on board HT Orsova on 8 January 1919 and was attached to 58th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 6 April 1919. Both sons (Francis and Donald) served in WWII.
Alf was born in Poowong via Warragul, Victoria in 1882, third of nine children of Robert Duncan Gourley (b1857 in Kilkenny, Ireland) and Kathleen Louisa Cayley (b1856 in Amhurst, Victoria). Robert was a Selector in Maryborough via Ballarat, Victoria in 1878 when he and Kathleen married in Melbourne. They settled at Mountain View, Korumburra where they raised their family and Robert was a Farmer and served as a Warragul Shire Councillor. In the early 1900s Robert and Kathleen moved to Melbourne.
Alf worked as a Farmer, Labourer and Contractor at Mountain View, Kerang and Sea View before enlisting in the AIF in 1916. Following his Discharge, Alf was a Labourer in Warragul where, in 1919, he married Georgina Eva Freckleton (b1890 in Buln Buln, Victoria). Alf and Georgina settled at Thorpedale via Moe, where they raised their family and Alf was a Farmer, later moving to Greta via Mohu. Alf and Georgina retired to Wangaratta, where Georgina died in 1956 and Alf in 1966.
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