WOODBRIDGE (LESTER), Aloysius James
| Service Number: | 210 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, Blackboy Hill, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Norwood, South Australia, 2 December 1877 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 2 October 1923, aged 45 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 210, Blackboy Hill, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sapper, 210, 3rd Field Company Engineers, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sapper, 210, 3rd Field Company Engineers, HMAT Medic, Fremantle | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sapper, 210, 3rd Field Company Engineers, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 20 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sapper, 210, 3rd Field Company Engineers, Discharged in England |
From Egypt
published in The Westralian Worker January 22 1915
"Capers at Cairo
A Soldier's Letter from Egypt
Sapper Aloysius J. Woodbridge who went away from W.A. with the first Expeditionary Force, writes thus to a relative who is a member of the staff of
this journal. His epistle will no doubt be interesting, in the main, to our sport-
ing readers:—
"A few more lines, hoping you are well, and that you had a merry Christmas, as we did here. (The letter is dated December 26), This is a wonderful place—really wonderful. We have had a good look round; saw the Sphinx, the large pyramid of Cheops (we camp right near it), the tombs of Rameses and Pharaohs, and all the other kings who are immortalised in ancient history.
We are just 10 miles from Cairo, and the electric trams run right to the Pyramids, the fare being 21/2d.
Cairo is a very large city—twice the size of Melbourne, and has a population of over a million. The European portion beats anything in Australia for buildings, and we see sights we never pictured in our wildest dreams.
The Citadel and Mosque are two of the sights. They were built thousands of years ago out of solid marble and alabaster, and have two large doors of silver and gold. Napoleon's fort is also a sight. In its walls of granite are great holes caused by the fire of his artillery. The ceilings and domes could
not be built by workmen of to-day. It is hard to believe that they were constructed by mortal man ....
We flew our flag over Cairo last week, but there was no fighting attached to
the ceremony. We expect to get some next week, for we are leaving for Suez
again to engage the Turks. We engineers will have the honor of being the
first Australians in action. We are fighting with the Gurkhas and the "Terriers."
We and the artillery fight together, and I think we can blot out the Turks' battery to make way for the Gurkhas and "Terriers'" Infantry.'...
Submitted 5 August 2017 by Irene Whennan
Biography contributed by Keith Harrison
Born Aloysius Lester in South Australia he enlisted days after war was declared, aged 35 in Western Australia, using his mother's maiden name Woodbridge. Sapper Woodbridge landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the first day, 25 April 1915, evacuated to hospital in August 1915 due to illness. He later served on the Western Front where he suffered illness and was wounded in action. He was discharged in October 1919 in UK. He secured employment and intended returning to Australia but by 1924 he was deceased. His brothers Francis Lester (KIA) and Leonard Lester also served in the AIF.
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