ALBERT, Arthur Collin
| Service Number: | 434 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Coolgardie, Western Australia, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Randwick, Randwick, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Horse trainer |
| Died: | Wyong, New South Wales, Australia, 1956, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 434, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| Date unknown: | Involvement Driver, 434, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: '' embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan MacCorquodale embarkation_ship_number: A6 public_note: '' | |
| Date unknown: | Embarked Driver, 434, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, HMAT Clan MacCorquodale |
Help us honour Arthur Collin Albert's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Arthur was born around 1895 in Coolgardie, Western Australia. He was raised on Stephen Street in Randwick, Sydney, NSW with his mother, Georgina Louise Albert (formerly Georgina Louise Lavender) and father, Arthur Herbert Albert. Arthur started his high schooling journey in Sydney Tech around the years 1911-1914, though it is not certain what years he studied there. He was a Christian who attended the Church of England. Arthur was also known to work his trade/calling as a horse trainer.
Arthur’s heroism and grit was demonstrated through his war service. He was a young soldier who was 19 measuring 5 feet 7 ½ inches when he joined the Australian Imperial Force on 24th August 1914. Arthur was specifically a part of the units known as the 21st Infantry Battalion and the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, 3rd Battery where he took the role of a Driver. As a Driver, his job was to operate and steer teams of horses that carried the guns, supplies and soldiers to battle.
Arthur embarked from Australia in October 1914. In the Gallipoli Campaign, he served with his fellow Australians and the British fighting against the Ottoman Empire, trying to force the Turkish out of the war and end the empire’s rule. During the Gallipoli battle, Arthur suffered a ruptured kidney 27th September 1915. He spent time in a hospital ship near Malta and was tranferred to England to recover. He was granted furlo in November 1915. In early 1916 he was fined and given 21 days detention for being AWL and obsence language towards his commanding officer. He returned to the Middle East and continued to get into trouble for not following orders. In January 1917 he proceeded to France and was transferred to the 1st Division Artillery. He fought on the Western Front until he became hill in July 1917 with a fever and was hospitalised for a week. He returned to his unit and was wounded again in October. After a couple of weeks of treatment he was sent to rest camp before rejoining his unit. He continued to get into trouble during 1918 for insolence and disobedience and was fined a couple of times.
He returned to Australia in November 1918 and was discharged in May 1919. After his war service, it is believed Arthur accepted his battle honours and went back to living an ordinary life back at Stephen Street with his mum and siblings. It is stated later on that he possibly switched occupations and became a marine diver after the war. Arthur died at the age of 61, presumably in 1956.
References:
Devlin, R. (no date) WW1 Honour Board Soldier Files, Arthur Collin Albert Google Drive. Available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1agKygCZkWNvb9O9YEkom3g1zM4-9Cvyd (drive.google.com). Google Drive folder with many soldier files, including a sub-folder with files related to Arthur Collin Albert
Museums, I.W. (no date) Life Story: Arthur Collin Albert, Lives of the First World War. Available at: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7339430 (livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk). Website on the remembrance of Arthur Collin Albert.
Virtual War Memorial Australia (no date) Arthur Collin Albert, Virtual War Memorial | Arthur Collin ALBERT. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/366436 (/explore/people/366436). Website on the remembrance of Arthur Collin Albert that contains information on him, his services and links on more stuff related to him
NAA (no date) Item Details | Arthur Collin Albert. Available at: http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=3023823 (recordsearch.naa.gov.au). Website that contains a digital copy of a report on Arthur Collin Albert, containing information and war files on Arthur, casualty and service forms and more.
Australian Government, DVA (no date) Remembering the Second Battle of Bullecourt, Remembering the Second Battle of Bullecourt. Available at: https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/latest-news-veterans/remembering-second-battle-bullecourt (www.dva.gov.au). Website on the 2nd Battle of Bullecourt
Australian War Memorial (no date) Acknowledgement of traditional custodians, Dawn of the Legend: The failed plan. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/dawn/plan (www.awm.gov.au). Website on the Gallipoli Campaign and battles
Bibliography:
Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1agKygCZkWNvb9O9YEkom3g1zM4-9Cvyd (drive.google.com)
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7339430 (livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk)
https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/366436 (/explore/people/366436)
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=3023823 (recordsearch.naa.gov.au)
https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/dawn/plan (www.awm.gov.au)