S1154
GRAHAM, Archibald John Douglas
| Service Number: | 403 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, June 1887 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Linesman |
| Died: | Malaria, 20 October 1943, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Port Elliot Institute Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 403, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 403, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide | |
| 15 Apr 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, 403, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 403, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 403, 10th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Archibald John Douglas Graham's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Archibald Graham was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1887. From a young age, Graham was a linesman. This job required him to be high up on machinery performing work in telecom construction using extensive knowledge and experience. He also had to operate power systems as well as having the ability to repair and maintain network infrastructure. The physical attributes which were talked about in one of his documents were that he was approximately 5 foot 10 and weighed 172 lbs, his eyes were blue and he had brown hair.
At the time of enlistment, he was single, had no children, and was part of the Roman Catholic religion. His motivation to enlist may have been his previous services, patriotism, and the fact that a few of his relatives were also enlisting. His mother’s name was Harriet Graham and his dad’s name was James Graham. He was the second youngest of seven children; three boys, and four girls. Their names were: Harriet Jean Graham, James Stuart Graham, Elsa Sarah Graham, Charles Morton Graham, Catherine Norma Graham, and Jessie Mary Graham.
When Graham was 27 and two months old upon enlisting in the army. On the 24th of August, 1914 a unit diary entry said, “it was a very hot and sticky day in Adelaide, South Australia to line up outside for hours”. Graham’s service number which was given to him upon enlisting was #403. Graham was admitted to a battalion upon enlistment. The battalion which he joined was the 10th Infantry Battalion.
Soon after enlisting, Graham was appointed a ‘Lance Corporal’ of the 10th Battalion. A Lance Corporal is one of the lowest non-commissioned officers in the army. A non-commissioned officer is an officer who hasn’t pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlistment ranks. Lance Corporals perform individual duties to help their battalion. It comes below a Corporal and one above a Private First Class. Graham usually served as second-in-command to the Corporal in a section of an infantry battalion. This rank was held by specialists such as clerks, drivers, signallers, machine-gunners and mortarmen.
His battalion was heavily involved in defending the front lines in the Gallipoli campaign. The Gallipoli campaign started on the 25th of April 1915. After the Allies landed their ships on the Gallipoli peninsula in Ottoman Turkey, 480,000 allies hurried off ships onto the shore. Graham got injured on the 2nd May 1915. After being injured, he was transported to a set of tents or huts where emergency treatments were carried out called a ‘Casualty Clearing Station’. After being assessed at this station, and having any possible surgeries done, he was transferred to a hospital away from the front. He returned to his unit on the 9th May 1915.
On the 4th July 1915 he was promoted to Lance Corporal. On the 23rd October 1915 he again admitted to hospital with Pyrexia. On the 9th November 1915 he was transferred to ‘Brook General Hospital’ in Woolwich, Greater London. This hospital was acquired by the War Office as a military hospital for the treatment of war casualties.
Graham returned to Australia 12th June 1918 and was discharged 26th July 1918. At some point in his life moved to Woolangabba Queensland according to correspondence in his Service Record.