Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alfred McGinty
Alfred, the eldest of the boys, enlisted in Townsville, Queensland, July 1940. He was sent to the Brisbane Exhibition grounds for training and then stationed at Grovely. Alfred was deployed to the Middle East in April 1941 – March 1942 where he served as part of Headquarters 1st Australia Corps as a clerk. While serving in the Middle East in 1941 he mentions in a letter home that he saw Gordon on arrival, before Gordon was shipped out a few days later.

On return to Australia in March 1942 he was transferred to Headquarters 1st Australian Army where he undertook special duties as a driver until June 1943. Family memories note that he was tasked with driving Army surveyors around northern Queensland during this period.

In October 1944 to December 1945 Alfred was deployed to Papua New Guinea. Initially he was with Headquarters 1st Australian Army and from June – December 1945 he worked with special investigation branch (SIB) military police. Alfred was demobilized in January 1946 at Redbank, Queensland. Alfred gained many skills during the war and would eventually be awarded the British Empire Medal for services to surveying in January 1978.