Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Albert Hillary Carlson

Albert Hillary Carlson was a private in the 27th Battalion. The Battalion was formed on 16th March 1915, involving mostly South Australians. After a period of basic training at Egypt, the battalion left for Turkey. The 7th Brigade, which included the 27th Battalion, headed over to Gallipoli for their first fight on the 12th September 1915. They took up a defensive position on Cheshire Ridge and throughout October they defended the ridge. After this they moved to new positions in Mule Gulley where they undertook further defensive operations alongside the 26th Battalion until they left in December.

After another short time training in Egypt, the Brigade proceeded to France as part of the 2nd Australian Division. The 27th Battalion entered the front-line trenches for the first time on 7th April 1916 and took part in their first major battle at Pozieres between 28th July and 5th August. After a break in a quiet area in Belgium, the 27th Battalion took part in two attacks to the east of Flers in the Somme Valley. Some of the soldiers from the 27th battalion got transported to England to fight some of the battle of the Somme there too.

On the 20th September 1917, they played a role at the battle of Menin Road which ended in the capture of Broodseinde Ridge on 4th October alongside the 2nd division.  Like most AIF battalions, the 27th battalion fought to turn back the Germans and in 1917 they participated in a heap of battles as Germany was pushed ever closer to defeat. On the 10th June they attacked around Morlancourt and acted in a supporting role during the battle of Hamel on 4th July.

Before the war, Albert Hillary Carlson was a farm hand at his parent’s farm in Goolwa, South Australia. He was an only child living with his mum and dad. He was a Baptist so he was very religious and so were his family. There are no records about relationships, and since he was 18, he would have still lived at his home before he went off to fight. He was involved in the community and as it said on his forms, he did a lot of service in his community. I believe he was a very respected man and he was also very caring.

First, Albert Hillary Carlson and the rest of the 27th battalion got to Gallipoli on the 12th September 1915. They were defending the Cheshire Ridge and did that throughout October. That was the first fight he was involved in, which during that time they suffered five killed and 29 wounded. After this they moved to new positions in Mule Gully where they undertook further defensive operations alongside the 26th Battalion. Albert Hillary Carlson was one of the soldiers defending the Gulley. After defending Mule Gully, there were two soldiers killed and eight wounded. The 27th battalion had a relatively quiet time at Gallipoli and they left in December, a month earlier than the end of Gallipoli, having suffered only a small amount of deaths.

After another short time training in Egypt, the Brigade proceeded to France as part of the 2nd Australian Division. The 27th Battalion entered the front-line trenches for the first time on 7th April 1916 and between 28th July and 5th August they fought the battle of Pozieres. The conditions there were more intense and 5, 285 men fighting in the battle of Pozieres died. After a break in Belgium, the 27th Battalion took part in two attacks to the east of Flers in the Somme Valley, both of them were floundered in the mud. Waves of soldiers were sunken by the mud, but the attack succeeded in capturing a portion of the German trenches, but a surprise attack two days later returned it back.

In Albert’s first fight at the battle of Pozieres, he was wounded and taken to a hospital nearby. When he recovered and rejoined his battalion again, he was transported to Flers. He fought four separate battles there which went for 1 month. He fought in England for the first time during the battle of the Somme and finished near the border before getting transported back to France on the 17th of February 1917. Albert got sick on the trip back to France and went to hospital again.[12] He re-joined his battalion 7 days later. He only fought one battle in France before he got taken back to England once again. He fought there for another 3 ½ months without any injuries, wounds or sickness. He returned to the front line trenches in France, but he was wounded after 1 attack there. Nine days later he was free to fight again and he stayed in France until September 1917.

Although they participated in minor attacks against the Germans, the 27th Battalion did not carry out a major attack again until 20th September 1917. They played a role at the battle of Menin Road which ended in the capture of Broodseinde Ridge on 4th October alongside the 2nd division. On the 10th June 1918 they attacked around Morlancourt and acted in a supporting role during the battle of Hamel on 4th July. The Battalion's last actions of the war were fought as part of the effort to break through the Beaurevoir Line in the first week of October 1918, but it was not separated until the 4th June 1919. Albert was a part of all these battles, and during that period he was never wounded. On 10th December 1918, Albert returned to Australia and came back to his family. He was 21 when he came back. He never got married but lived until the 29th November 1958, aged 61.

The word ‘ANZAC’ is a part of our language and our history. When I think of the word ‘ANZAC’ I think of the brave Australian and New Zealand men who fought to protect our country. Hundreds of thousands of men died fighting throughout World War 1 which is an astonishing number. The Anzac’s spirit focuses mainly on these 4 words:

·         Mateship

·         Courage

·         Endurance

·         Sacrifice

To have the Anzac Spirit you must display these 4 words. The Anzac Sprit shows mateship by helping your mates that may have fallen before you, courage by volunteering yourself to fight not knowing if you would ever return, endurance by being in such an unpleasant situation and still having stamina to keep going and sacrifice by putting your life on the line for the good of your country. The Anzac spirit or Anzac legend is a concept which suggests that Australian and New Zealand soldiers all shared these 4 characteristics.

Albert Hillary Carlson was an Anzac and no doubt displayed all 4 characteristics within his life at war. He showed mateship by working together with many other men for the 3 year which he was at war. As a part of a battalion, he was a part of a team so he needed mateship to be able to work well with all the other men. Without mateship within a battalion, some men would be lost and some would undermine the point of being there. Mateship was why many kept going and continuing, because of all their great mates. Albert Hillary Carlson was injured or sick at least 3 times during the war, and he kept coming back, meaning he wanted to be there to protect his mates at home perhaps or his mates in the 27th battalion. All soldiers displayed courage by signing up for war in the first place. I know many of the men that signed up thought war was going to be heaps of fun, but after their first fight, they had so much courage to keep going. So many soldiers went to bed not knowing if they would be there again the next night. Albert was wounded and sick many times but he had the courage to continue fighting. He seemed like the type of guy who cared a great deal about his family so I believe he decided to go and fight for them. It takes a lot of courage to keep fighting battle after battle seeing men fall before them and keep going. Albert fought really intense battles because he was on the front line trenches, but he fought many more after that because he was so courageous. Albert also showed a great deal of endurance just like everyone else fighting in the war. The conditions weren’t at all pleasant, and the sights they would have seen weren’t too pleasant either.[19] All the soldiers had to bear the pain of being at war, away from their families and seeing their mates fall in front of them. Albert and all the other soldiers fighting all had the ability and strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress and still have stamina left. What they all endure, especially Albert who fought in the front line trenches, would be so traumatic but he kept coming back and kept on fighting. Albert showed sacrifice by volunteering himself to the war in the first place without knowing the end result. Every single soldier sacrificed themselves for their country and their families.