Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alexander Abramovitz was a private ranked courageous solider whose future fate lied in the service and protection of our country during World War One (WW1). Born into a Jewish family in Adelaide South Australia on June 9th, 1896. Upon Abramovitz’s enlistment in 1915 he worked as an agent for a small real-estate company located in the heart of Adelaide.

On the 4th of February 1915, at age 19, Abramovitz enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Adelaide. When he first enlisted, a medical examination was conducted highlighting Abramovitz physical appearance. Here, Abramovitz was measured 5 feet and 4 inches in height, weighed 147 pounds, with brown eyes, dark hair, along with a dark complexation. Abramovitz was recruited into the 27th Infantry Battalion which comprised of mainly men from the suburbs of Adelaide. On the 31st of May, Abramovitz embarked for active service abroad. In June, Abramovitz, along with the rest of his Battalion, departed from Australia and landed in Egypt where they spent two months training. On September the 4th, he then landed at Gallipoli where he embarked at Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (M.E.F). The following day, he was caught absent without leave (A.W.L) from 17:00 to 20:45 – (5:00 pm) to (8:45 pm). The repercussions of this incident resulted in the deduction of 2 days’ work without pay for Abramovitz.

On November the 17th Abramovitz was awarded 7 days of field punishment for being AWL. On the 24th of November, Abramovitz was admitted to the 7th field ambulance at Gallipoli for diarrhea, however discharged to duty the following day. From the 26th of November to the 24th of December, Abramovitz served the Anzac trams which was a tramway system that played a crucial role in supporting Anzac forces during the Gallipoli campaign.

Following the evacuation from Gallipoli on the 10th of January 1916, due to the disobedience of orders, Abramovitz disembarked from Alexandrina YMCA rest camp to Tel-el-Kebir camp. (Tel-el-Kebir was a military camp located 110 kilometers north-east of the capital of Egypt, Cairo). Following the completion of his punishment, on the 19th of January, Abramovitz was admitted to the 7th Field Ambulance of Tel-el-Kebir for diarrhea. From there, he was admitted to hospital, where he was discharged 3 days after the incident on the 22nd of January. Upon discharge, 5 days later, on the 27th of January, Abramovitz was admitted to the 7th Field Ambulance of Tel-el-Kebir for feeling unwell. As his illness worsened, Abramovitz was transferred to the 2nd Australian General Hospital (A.G.H) located in Ghezired, which was situated west of downtown Cairo. It was later discovered that Abramovitz was diagnosed with a hypothyroidism. (Hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormones. Symptoms include fatigue, weight gain and depression. Treatment during World War One was extremely limited, options may have included iodine supplementation, thyroid extracts, or a few others.) This condition later developed into Myxedema. (Myxedema is a rare yet life-threatening condition portrayed by extreme hypothyroidism. Myxedema can occur when hypothyroidism is left untreated for a lengthy period of time.)

Due to such development, as a result, on the 14th of February, Abramovitz was transferred to the British Red Cross Hospital (B.R.C.H) of Montazah. A month later, he was discharged from hospital on the 11th of March. A week later, Abramovitz was admitted into the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis for a sore throat. (This Hospital was Australia’s 1st General Hospital located in Cairo, Egypt). On the 29th of March, Abramovitz was discharged to duty. Following this, on the 2nd of April right before the 27th Battalion were about to partake in one its first significant battles in the favor of the allies; Abramovitz was admitted into the 3rd Australian General Hospital located in Abbassia, (the outskirts of Cairo) where he was not yet diagnosed (N.Y.D) with pyrexia. (Pyrexia is also commonly referred to as a fever) 10 days later, Abramovitz was discharged form hospital, returning to the 27th Battalion once again. From the 12th of April to the 8th of August, documents of Abramovitz personal movement went unrecorded. However, is it assumed that during this time period, he along with the rest of the 27th Battalion entered the front-line trenches of Pozieres battle.  This battle was held in the village of Pozieres in France. This battle was one of the larger battles of the Somme Offensive which was one of the overall largest battles of World War One. On the 8th of August, Abramovitz returned to Australia from France with bronchitis (Bronchitis is often caused by virus or bacteria and is an inflammatory condition of the bronchial tubes), and with defective eyesight. From here, Abramovitz was discharged from duty effective immediately for being labeled ‘medically defiant’ for active service. On the 24th of September, he embarked from Melbourne for Adelaide.

After Abramovitz’s discharge in 1916, he married, Sadie Abramovitz. Once Abramovitz’s war service was adjourned, he applied for a war pension in which he received for only 6 days, from the 2nd of November 1917 to the 8th of November 1917. Struggling to find work along with his family’s economic burden, Abramovitz returned back to the war to meet his financial needs. Knowing the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) would not allow for Abramovitz service to continue after he was discharged due to being medically unfit in 1916, Abramovitz created a false identity.

On the 27th of July 1918, Abramovitz re-enlisted into the AIF in Melbourne, Victoria, under the false identity of Henry Albert Abrams. On the 4th of September, he re-embarked for active service abroad with the 17th General service Reinforcement (G.S.R) – (The 17th G.S.R would have likely been involved in the training of new recruits and preparing them for deployment to the front lines.) On the 17th of October, Abramovitz was admitted to hospital at sea for Influenza. 7 days later, he was discharged from hospital. On the 14th of November, Abramovitz disembarked from England and marched into the 5th Battalion, from here he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion where he was selected to reinforce the military unit. From early 1918, the 2nd Battalion had been fighting in the Somme Valley to help stop the German spring offensive. In late November, the guns fell silent as an armistice was formed.

On the 28th of January 1919, Abramovitz’s marched in the Australian staging camp. This camp played a crucial part in following the conclusion of the war. It involved the dismissal and repatriation of soldiers returning from combat. The camps provided the essentials for providing administration papers, discharge documents, and medical care for the soldiers. The camps acted as the gathering ground for soldiers and all allied troops upon returning home.

Following the conclusion of Abramovitz’s second term of service, he moved to Melbourne, Victoria.  In 1919, on the 18th of May, Alexander Abramovitz was married to Russian woman, Sadie Abramovitz in the West London Synagogue. A month later, on the 1st of June, Mrs. Abramovitz gave birth to their only child, Julia. However, in late 1921, it was recorded in the sun New-Pictorial newspaper, Alexander Abramovitz divorced Sadie Abramovitz. 

According to Find a Grave, Clara died in 1915, her husband George in 1918. Alexander had a sister Minnie who died as a baby and Sarah, who gave a statement to the police after her father died by suicide by jumping into the River Torrens. The newspaper article announcing his death (found on Trove) states that George had 3 sons and 5 daughters.

Alexander ABRAMOVITZ was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 9th June 1896

His parents were George ABRAMOVITZ & Clara COHEN who married in Sydney, NSW in 1893

He married Sadie GOLDBERG in Bethnal Green in London, UK on 18th May, 1919 - 1 daughter Millicent Julia

Around 1926 he changed his name by deed poll to Alexander ALEXANDER

His 2nd marriage was on 17th March, 1940 in the Great Synagogue in Sydney to Lona TSCHERNIGOW known as CHERNY

He died on 13th July in a Nursing Home in Maroubra in Sydney NSW under his new name and was cremated at the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park in Sydney