TOWELL, Alfred William
| Service Number: | 962 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Maclean, Clarence Valley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia, June 1962, cause of death not yet discovered, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Maclean Cemetery, New South Wales |
| Memorials: | Maclean Public School Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 962, 42nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 962, 42nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Borda, Sydney | |
| 4 Dec 1916: | Transferred Australian Defence Forces (ADF)_Australian Regular Army, Private, 49th Infantry Battalion | |
| 2 Apr 1917: | Involvement Private, 962, 49th Infantry Battalion, Noreuil, Wounded on June 5 at Noreuil |
An Australian Hero
Alfred answered the call of King & Country and enlisted on January 3 1916.
He was assigned to D Company of the 42nd Infantry Battalion, known as the "Australian Black Watch."
He went for basic training at Thompsons Paddock Camp in Brisbane and on June 5 1916 he left from Sydney aboard HMAT A30 Borda for the long journey to England.
On arrival in England, he was sent to Larkhill on Salisbury Plain, where troops were trained in trench warfare. Whilst at Larkhill, Alfred was transferred to the 50th Infantry Battalion. After training he left for the front on December 4 1916. He boarded the SS Princess Victoria in Folkestone for the short crossing to France.
On this day he was transferred to the 49th Infantry Battalion, where he would serve for the remainder of his service.
December 1916 was a very cold winter and many troops suffered with influenza, and Alfred was no exception. After being in France for just 4 days he was admitted to Hospital and after being released back to his unit, was immediately re hospitalised. He spent 6 weeks at the Etaples Base hospital near Le Havre recovering, before rejoining his unit on January 28 1917.
In early April 1917 he saw his first major action at Noreuil. He was part of the successful capture of a railway cutting that the Germans had held. Unfortunately he was wounded in the action and was once again back in hospital for six weeks and returned to his unit on May 17.
On May 31 Alfred and his unit moved to Neuve Eglise in readiness for the now famous attack on Messines Ridge.
On June 7 1917 at 3.20 am nineteen mines that had been dug under the German lines was detonated. Alfred was there for what was the largest man made explosion, at the time.
Alfred and his comrades took all of their objectives but a massive counter attack by the Germans caused 7000 Australian casualties on that day and Alfred was one of them. He had received a serious leg injury and was shipped back to England on board SS Newhaven on June 20 1917.
He was treated at Graylingwell War Hospital before being moved to the 3rd Auxillary hospital in Dartford. He was then sent for convalescence in Weymouth England.
He returned to Australia on HMAT Beltana on October 18 2017 and was medically discharged. Alfred lived with his wound until he passed away in June 1962, a true Australian hero.
Submitted 5 July 2026 by David Brooker