BALAAM, Albert James
| Service Number: | 503 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 August 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 24th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Bury St Edmunds, England, 20 March 1892 |
| Home Town: | Riana, Central Coast, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Gardener |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Westhoek Sector between Zonnebeke and Polygon Wood, Belgium, 1 October 1917, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (Panel 23), Belgium, Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Penguin to the Great War , South Riana Memorial Gates |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 503, 6th Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 503, 6th Machine Gun Company, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 503, 6th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Medic, Melbourne | |
| 28 Jul 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 24th Machine Gun Company | |
| 1 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 503, 24th Machine Gun Company, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 503 awm_unit: 24th Australian Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-01 |
Help us honour Albert James Balaam's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Jennie Blake, Tasmania in the Great War
Remembering Pte Albert James Balaam
24th Australian Machine Gun Company
One of eight children, Albert was born on 20 March 1892 to George and Sarah Balaam of Ixworth, Suffolk.
When he was 21, Albert along with two other Ixworth lads emigrated to Australia on the S.S. “Ballarat” arriving in Melbourne, January 1913.
He travelled to Tasmania to live with his aunt and uncle, Stephen and Louisa Clarke (née Balaam), my Great Grandparents, the first settlers in South Riana, Northwestern Tasmania.
Albert enlisted in Penguin on 10 August 1916 and underwent training at Claremont Tasmania, Langwarrin and Seymour, Victoria before sailing from Melbourne on HMAT A7 “Medic” with the 8th Reinforcements, Australian 6th Machine Gun Company, disembarking in Plymouth on 19 February 1917.
After undertaking further training at Grantham and Belton Park, Albert proceeded to France from Southampton on 07 September 1917 as part of the 24th Australian M. G. Coy.
It is not known if Albert was able to visit his family whilst training in England; he had not seen them for four years.
Albert was killled in action on 01 October 1917; according to the Unit War Diary, on that day the 24th Aus M.G. Coy was positioned in the Westhoek Sector between Zonnebeke and Polygon Wood, Belgium.
Lt Birmingham of the same company wrote “His loss will be keenly felt in the Company....he was well liked”.
Albert has No Known Grave and is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres Belgium.
He is also remembered on Memorials in Tasmania, the Australian War Memorial and in his home village of Ixworth, Suffolk.
Lest We Forget
Click images to start slideshow.