Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of William Henry and Annie Alderson, of 29, Leah St., Forestville, South Australia. Native of Strathbly

Memorialised at West Terrace General Cemetery, ref: Sturt, Path 5s Site 33

THE LATE SERGEANT L. R. ALDERSON.
Reported missing twelve months ago, after leading a bayonet charge on Gallipoli, it is now announced that Sergeant Lancelot R. Alderson was killed in action on May 2, 1915. The  deceased was born at Strathalbyn, but went to Port Pirie with his parents when quite young and enlisted from that town. By trade he was a cabinet-maker, and his first knowledge of soldiering was obtained in the Citizen Forces, in which he was a sergeant. He went to the front with the second contingent.

Contributed by Para Hills High School

Lancelot Reginald Alderson was born on the 3rd of November 1895 in the small town of Strathalbyn, South Australia to William Henry and Annie Myra Alderson (nee McAllister). Lancelot was one of 6 siblings, with one sister and four brothers, one of which, his younger brother, William Arthur Alderson, who also served in the First World War. However, unlike his older brother, William returned home to Australia on the 2nd of March 1919. Sometime after the birth of his youngest known brother, Harold Alfred Alderson, the family relocated to the suburb of Solomontown in Port Pirie where he was educated at Solomontown Model School, (now known as Solomon Primary School) and found employment as a cabinet maker.

Throughout his lifetime Lancelot showed a keen interest in military matters and services. This in turn eventually would lead him to make the idecision to volunteer his services to the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He enlisted into the Australian Army in Port Pirie on the 16th of September 1914 where he qualified as a sergeant in the Citizen Forces, assigned into the 16th Infantry Battalion AIF. The 16th Battalion was established on September 16, 1914, just six weeks after the commencement of the First World War. Three-quarters of the battalion was recruited in Western Australia, with the remaining members recruited in South Australia, Lancelot included

On the afternoon of the 24th of April 1915, Lancelot had left with the AIF men and his unit, boarding onto troop transporters and battleships, embarking on a short, yet dreaded overnight journey to Gallipoli, bound for war, and eventually landing in the Gallipoli Peninsula on the afternoon of the 25th of April 1915. The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) made a tenuous hold on the rocky slopes above the beach after landing in Gallipoli roughly 300 kilometres south-west of Istanbul, at a location that would later become known as Anzac Cove. At the same time, British troops arrived at Cape Helles in the south and were soon joined by the French shortly after.

They stayed there until the late hours of April 30th, after which they were relieved by the 15th Battalion and moved to Rest Gully, where they spent time digging in order to protect themselves from Turkish snipers. Turkish counterattacks between April 27th and 29th failed to push the Anzacs into the sea. The limited section of the Gallipoli peninsula that they now controlled became known as the 'Anzac' campaign. The area on the peninsula's southern tip, taken by British forces on April 25, became known as "Helles”. Royal Naval Division battalions began a short relief of Australian soldiers at Anzac. One shrapnel burst from the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, containing 24,000 bullets, wiped out an entire Turkish company as it charged against some demoralised British forces at Helles on the 28th.

On May 2nd, the battalion was deployed to the front lines, towards the left of Quinn's Post, where they were to make their way to the Bloody Angle. The 13th Battalion was to move to the left, joining the New Zealand Otago Battalion, which was to attack Baby 700. The 15th Battalion was to lead the charge from Pope's Hill. The attack occurred on the evening of May 2nd. After the bombardment of the Turkish fortifications ceased, the 16th Battalion advanced up the valley's steep side heading towards Bloody Angle. The Turkish ceased their fire until the unit had reached the highest point of the ridge, then unleashed fire on them, mainly from their stations at The Nek and the Chessboard. Throughout the night, the battalion fought and dug in, broadening the trench line of Quinn's Post. A few of their men discovered and occupied a deserted Turkish trench on the summit of the Bloody Angle.

On the night of 2nd of May 1915, just eight days after he landed, Lancelot was severely injured in combat after he had his right side reportedly blown in by a bomb at Dead Man’s Ridge, Gallipoli, Turkey according to a statement by eyewitness, Anselin O’ Gorman:

“Witness says that Alderson had his right side blown in by a bomb on Sunday night 2nd May at Dead Man's Ridge. The last witness saw of him he was being carried down to the ambulance. Witness enquired about him afterwards and heard that he had died. Witness and he both came from Port Pirie and Alderson was a cabinetmaker.” (Anselin O’ Gorman, 3rd March 1916)

Lancelot was reported wounded and missing in action on the 7th of May 1915. In the month of June his father, William Henry Alderson had received a cablegram which stated that his son had been wounded and that it was “not reported serious”. Base Records informed Mr Alderson in August that “...it has been regretted that the hospital in which he is located is not as present known...” Further correspondence in December 1915 again yielded no outcomes.

It wasn’t until many months later that he was finally confirmed to have died, succumbing to his injuries, and buried at sea on the 2nd of May 1915. A witness statement from a fellow soldier of the same unit describes:

“Alderson was in D. Coy. I was wounded on May 2nd. and sent back to Egypt on a hospital ship. A man I knew was on board, and he told me that Alderson had been killed the day I was wounded. I cannot remember his name, but he came from Port Pirie, as Alderson did, and I knew him quite well in the Company. He said Alderson was shot through the head. Alderson was a very young man of short stature. He and I enlisted about the same time in Port Pirie, S. Australia.” (Private C. Reppe 2nd May 1915) (Refer to appendix 12)

It was later learnt that Lancelot was shot in the left thigh. The bullet which was shot at him entered in his thigh and travelled to his stomach resulting in his death.

He was awarded with three medals for his service: the 1914 – 15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal

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