WIGHT, Albert Gordon
| Service Number: | 304 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 February 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 24th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 17 December 1897 |
| Home Town: | Ballarat, Central Highlands, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Geelong, 2 March 1974, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Geelong Eastern Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 304, 24th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 304, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 15 Aug 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 304, 24th Infantry Battalion, Return to Australia for discharge - TB | |
| 9 Feb 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 304, 24th Infantry Battalion, Discharged as medically unfit for service (TB on right lung). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Albert Gordon Wight enlisted at Ballarat Vic on 10 February 1915, aged 17 years, although his enlistement papers state he was 18 years old. The family always understood that he forged his father's signature on his Attestation Forms.
Allocated to the 24th Battalion AIF, he arrived in Egypt on 18 June 1915. During the voyage he contracted a heavy cold and upon arrival was confined to bed for three weeks.
The cold developed into a septic infection and he was admitted to No 1 AGH at Heliopolis, Egypt for several weeks.
On 1 August 1915, he was declared medically unfit (TB on his right lung) and he embarked for Australia on 15 August 1915.
Upon arrival back in Australia, he was admitted to Melbourne Hospital for another three months until eventually medically discharged from the AIF on 9 February 1916.
That wasn't the end of the story however, as he re-enlisted a week later under the name Gordon Wight (where he was passed as being medically fit) and commenced service in the 39th Battalion AIF (see separate entry).
Albert Gordon Wight would go on to survive the war and father ten children of his own (who would go on to have numerous grand children) and he lived into his 80's.