S7634
ALLAN, Herbert George
| Service Number: | 12793 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 March 1916, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Kent Town, South Australia, 21 June 1894 |
| Home Town: | Prospect (SA), Prospect, South Australia |
| Schooling: | North Adelaide Public School |
| Occupation: | Clerk with South Australian Railways |
| Died: | Natural causes, South Australia, 23 January 1975, aged 80 years |
| Cemetery: |
Enfield Memorial Park, South Australia Cremated |
| Memorials: | Adelaide South Australian Railways WW1 & WW2 Honour Boards, Kilburn Islington Railway Workshops Honour Roll, Prospect Roll of Honour A-G WWI Board |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 12793, 11th Field Ambulance, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 12793, 11th Field Ambulance, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 12793, 11th Field Ambulance, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 12793 | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 12793, 11th Field Ambulance |
Help us honour Herbert George Allan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Herbert George Allan was born in Kent Town, South Australia, on the 21st of June 1894. His parents were John Joseph Allan and Amy Jane Allan. He grew up in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide in a Methodist household.
On the 13th of March 1916, he enlisted for service in the Australian Imperial Force at the age of just 21 years and 8 months. He was assigned the regimental number 12793 and posted to the Australian Army Medical Corps, attached to the 11th Field Ambulance. Herbert trained briefly in Australia before embarking from Melbourne on June 6th 1916, aboard HMAT Wandilla. Just six weeks later, on 27th July 1916, he disembarked at Plymouth, England, where he continued to prepare and train before being sent to the Western Front.
Allan's unit was deployed to France in November of 1916, where they worked endlessly to provide medical assistance to the brave who were wounded in the brutal trench warfare. His service records note that he was granted leave in England in December of the same year, but otherwise he remained near the front, serving as part of the medical teams who worked under fire to recover and assist injured soldiers.
His war service was marked by personal sacrifice. On the 5th of April 1918, during the fierce fighting near Ypres in Belgium, Allan was wounded in action. He took a gunshot wound to his hand and was immediately admitted to a hospital in France. Mere days later, on April 9th 1918, he was transferred back to England for further treatment, and his next of kin was advised of the events. He remained at the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital until he marched in to Sutton Veny for returned to Australia.
Allan embarked on the Lucie Woermann in November of 1919 to return to Australia. He arrived back on the 5th of December 1919 and was discharged from the AIF in South Australia on the 14th of March 1920.
After the war, Allan married Clare Critchley and, together, raised two children who would later serve in uniform during the Second World War. Their son, Stanley Gordon Allan, was born in 1921 and later became a Pilot Officer, while the other son, Leslie George Allan, who was born in 1923, served as a Flying Officer.
Herbert George Allan passed away at the age of 80. He was cremated in the Enfield Memorial Park, South Australia.
Click images to start slideshow.