Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alexander Edward Merlehan #323 41st Battalion

Alex Merlehan was born at Mount French to Richard and Margaret Merlehan. As a boy he attended Lower Coochin State School.

When Alex presented himself for enlistment in Brisbane on 28th December 1915 he reported that he was 18 years old and employed as a labourer. Alexander had enlisted together with the Louden brothers from Mount Alford who were of a similar age. Alex’s elder brother, Charles, had enlisted just the previous month and perhaps the Merlehan brothers requested that they be placed in the same battalion. Such practices were common during the First World War and consequently, Alex and Charles were both allotted to “A” Company of the 41st Battalion. The Louden brothers also ended up in the 41st Battalion.

The 41st Battalion was formed in February 1916 at Enoggera to become part of the 11th brigade of the 3rd Division AIF. The 3rd Division, unlike the other four divisions of the AIF was not immediately deployed to the fighting on the Western Front in 1916. The new divisional commander of the 3rd, John Monash, assembled his division directly in England for extensive training.

Alex and Charles boarded the “Demosthenes” in Sydney on 18th May 1916. During the voyage via South Africa and Sierra Leone, Alex was charged with “breaking out of quarters”, which earned him a loss of 20 day’s pay and a fine of 3 shillings to cover damages. The 41st Battalion landed in Plymouth on 20th July 1916 and marched out to the Australian camp at Sutton Veney for extensive training.

After only limited success on the Somme in 1916, the British High Command moved its focus on the Western Front to the Ypres salient in Belgium in 1917. The 3rd Division AIF, when shipped overseas in November 1916, was destined to endure winter in the French Belgian border region. From February to April of 1917, Alex spent time in hospital at Saint Omer being treated for dermatitis and mumps. He returned to his battalion in time for the opening of the great offensive of the Flanders campaign, the battle of Messines Ridge.

The Messines Battle was to begin on 7th June with the blowing of 19 underground mines placed under the German positions on the ridge. Once the mines had been fired, the infantry would advance to capture positions on the heights. The 41st Battalion, and the other three battalions in the 11th Brigade, had a supporting role which required them to carry tools and equipment into the frontline trenches in the days before the 7th June. On the 6th June, Alex’s brother Charles was killed by artillery fire and given that the brothers were in the same company, Alex may well have been nearby. The 41st continued to act in a supporting role for the rest of the Messines offensive and was not called in to action until October.

After the success of Messines, limited engagements along the line of the Menin Road from Ypres east towards Passchendaele then positioned the British (and Australian) forces at the base of a low ridge. On 4th October, the 11th Brigade was involved in a successful advance against the Broodseinde Ridge. Casualties as recorded in the Battalion War Diary were light but nevertheless Alex Merlehan was reported as killed in action and buried near the village of Zonnebeke.

Alex’s mother, Maggie, was granted a pension of one pound per fortnight to compensate for her loss. This was in addition to a similar amount granted earlier as a result of the death of Charles.

When war graves were being consolidated by the authorities at the war’s end, no trace of Alex’s grave remained. Alexander Merlehan is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres when the citizens of the town honour the sacrifice of over 30,000 British and Dominion Troops with a ceremony under the arch of the gate each evening at 8:00pm.