Thomas William ALLEY

Badge Number: S68950, Sub Branch: Thebarton
S68950

ALLEY, Thomas William

Service Number: 4126
Enlisted: 1 August 1915
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 48th Infantry Battalion
Born: Belair, South Australia , 21 March 1897
Home Town: Belair, Mitcham, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Gardener
Died: 30 September 1989, aged 92 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia
Acacia E Path 36 Grave 493B
Memorials: Brown Hill Creek Public School WW1 Pictorial Roll of Honor
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World War 1 Service

11 Jan 1915: Involvement Private, 4126, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: ''
1 Aug 1915: Enlisted
11 Jan 1916: Embarked Private, 4126, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Borda, Adelaide
11 Nov 1918: Involvement Private, 4126, 48th Infantry Battalion
Date unknown: Wounded 4126, 48th Infantry Battalion

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Biography

Son of William Alfred ALLEY and Thirza nee STALLEY

Biography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School

Thomas William ALLEY was born on the 21st of March 1897. He lived in Belair, Mitcham with his mother, Thirza nee STALLEY and father, William Alfred ALLEY. Prior to enlistment, Thomas worked as a gardener. He was 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) and weighed 155 pounds (70 kg), boasting a fair complexion, he had brown eyes and brown hair. During the military medical examination, Thomas scored a 6/6 on the vision test for both his left and right eye.

Unmarried and with prior experience in the 45th Battalion Junior Cadets, he joined the AIF on the 24th of August 1915 at the age of 18 years and 6 months. On the 1st of November 1915  Thomas joined the 15th Infantry for training in Adelaide. 

Thomas embarked to Egypt from Adelaide on the 11th of January 1916, aboard the HMAT A30 Borda, and arrived on 15th of March 1916 to undergo further training alongside new soldiers and veterans. While in Egypt on March 28th, 1916, he attempted to steal fruit from a native hawker, later throughout that day he would then be absent from an orderly room even after a warning. Thomas was awarded 14 days of punishment.

Shortly after, he was taken on strength to the 48th Battalion on the 2nd of April in 1916. From there, the 48th Battalion traveled to Northern France in June 1916 to fight their first battle – the battle for Pozieres in the Sommes. The battle of the Sommes, one of the heaviest artilleries attack the Australian troops had to undergo, killed 598 ranks of the 48th battalion. Thomas fought in battle from the 23rd of July until he was wounded on 6th August with a gun shot wound to his left leg. He was treated and after spending some time at depot to recover, he returned to his unit the following month. 

During 1917 he was slighly wounded again in October and remained on duty. 

. He was hospitalised while on leave for an infection and was treated at the Bulford Dermatological Hospital.

Throughout his military service, Thomas has struggled with military discipline and repeatedly failed the general code of conduct. From the beginning of his service, in 1916, to the end, in 1919, he would constantly abandon his post, the problem was most frequent at the end. The most severe case was during February 1918 whenhe took leave and returned to England but he failed to report to base at the end of his leave. He was reported as AWL and pleaded guilty was sentenced to 30 days of detention, However, he was released before the end of his sentence.

Alley preceeded overseas again to France in June 1918. He was appointed as a Lance Corporal 28th September 1918. 

Alley returned to Australia and was discharged from the AIF 10th October 1919

Thomas William Alley passed away on the 30th of September 1989 at the age of 92 and was buried at Centennial Park Cemetery in South Australia.

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