Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Born on June 6th, 1894, Stanley was born as a natural-born British Subject but was raised in Uraidla, South Australia, where he grew up with his parents William and Agnes Dyer, and siblings Edith, Charles, Blanche, Frank, Harold, Adelaide, Cecil, Albert, and Gilbert Dyer (Geni.com). Stanley spent most of his childhood in Uraidla, where he eventually grew up to become a gardener (National Archives of Australia).

On the 27th of November 1914, at only 20 ½ years old, Stanley enlisted (National Archives of Australia). Only four months later, on the 2nd of March 1915, Stanley was set to join the M.E.F. (Mediterranean Expeditionary Force), ready to fight for Australia in Gallipoli (National Archives of Australia).   

After only two months in battle at Gallipoli, Stanley had a gunshot wound on his right hand and embarked with 600 other Australian soldiers to Malta on the 4th of May 1915, where he would be hospitalised and looked after by nurses (RTE/Gallipoli). On the 23rd of June, Stanley was transferred to St Georges hospital where he would receive more intense care (National Archives of Australia).   

Stanley was discharged from St Georges hospital and rejoined his unit to go back to the battlefields in Gallipoli on the 25th of July 1915 (National Archives of Australia). Stanley recovered for around 3 weeks until he was well enough to rejoin the battalion on the 19th of August 1915.

However, during this battle, Stanley was diagnosed with colic, a condition where you end up intensely crying, screaming, and expressing pain for hours, several days a week for a long period of time. (Mayo Clinic). Stanley suffered with colic for a few months, until he was well enough to rejoin the battlefield.

On the 17th of November 1915, Stanley and several other Australian soldiers were transferred to Egypt. On that day, Senussi tribesmen (a Muslin political-religious clan), attacked the village of Sollum, (which was where forces that were close to the Allies were located), where two Bedouin soldiers were killed and a telephone line was sabotaged (Australian Army).

After fighting in Egypt for around 2 months, Stanley was Transferred to Helouan on the 22nd of January 1916, because he and many other soldiers had caught influenza (National Archives of Australia). Stanley was admitted on the 28th of January, but shortly after, rejoined the battlefield to continue to fight on the front lines for Australia in Zeitoun (Egypt), Ghezireh.

Unfortunately, less than a month later, Stanley was admitted back to Helouan on the 3rd of February because of jaundice, a disease that causes a yellow discolouration of the skin, the white in the eyes (the sclera), and the body fluids (Mount Sinai, New York). This and all of his other previous illnesses were probably caused by poor hygiene, lack of sleep, poor diet, contact with mice, rats, fleas, or exposure to cold (ANZAC Portal).

After a stressful 8 months of being in and out of hospital, plus also fighting for his country, Stanley rejoined his unit from the hospital on the 23rd of December 1916 (National Archives of Australia) and was also promoted to Acting Corporal in the field on the 26th of October 1916 (Cmhs.ca). Not only was Stanley promoted to Acting Corporal, but 2 months later he was also promoted to Temporary Sergeant where he was ‘Now in the ranks of the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force serving beyond the sea’ just before the New Year on the 28th of December 1916 (The National Archives). This means that he moved from 3rd to the 2nd  in the army officer rank and was now above everyone except the Sergeant Major. This was considered a huge honour in the First World War, as it was very hard and rare to achieve (Over the Front).

After several months still in battle, Stanley was admitted to the 3rd Southern General Hospital, Oxford, England on the 24th of April 1917, where he suffered a mild gunshot wound to the left leg. That year, Stanley also was sent back to the hospital for being sick on the 30th of June, where he also caught scabies on the 11th of July 1917 (National Archives of Australia).

In Decmeber 1917 he was Mentioned in Despatches for conspicuous services rendered. This was published in the London Gazette Friday 28th December 1917

After an intense year of recovery and back to battle, Stanley was unfortunately wounded in action once again on the 24th of April 1918, where he had a gunshot wound on his right leg. From this, he went to C.C.S. (Casualty Clearing Station) in England on the 28th of April and was admitted a day after to No.3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford.

By July of that year, Stanley committed a crime stating in his records that he was ‘Absenting himself without leave from 10 pm to 10.20 pm 6/7/18’ and ‘conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline creating a disturbance on a tram car at Havre on 6/7/18’ (National Archives of Australia). Because of the severity of his actions, Stanley was stripped of his title of Temporary Sergeant  and demoted back to the ranks of Acting Corporal (naa.gov).

On August 10, 1918, after a frightening and intense four years of battle, and several trips to the hospital, Stanley Alic Dyer was killed in the morning in Crépey Wood, France by being snipped (or shot) in the head. Because of the severity of the injury, Stanley died instantly, as there was no opportunity to save him. Stanley’s family was informed of their son's death just 4 days before the war ended on the 7th of November 1918 (National Archives of Australia).

Stanley was buried at the Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres, Picardie, France at grave no. 1412 at the age of 24 (National Archives of Australia).

Lest we forget.

Reference list

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gallipoli.rte.ie. (n.d.). Gallipoli | Century Ireland. [online] Available at: https://gallipoli.rte.ie/.

geni_family_tree. (2016). Stanley Alic Dyer. [online] Available at: https://www.geni.com/people/Stanley-Dyer/6000000017237753643 [Accessed 6 Jun. 2024].

Government, A. (2019). Home | The Anzac Portal. [online] Dva.gov.au. Available at: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/.

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National Archives of Australia (2019). Home page | naa.gov.au. [online] Naa.gov.au. Available at: https://www.naa.gov.au/.

National Archives of Australia. (1914). Dyer Stanley Alic : SERN 1336 : POB Uraidla SA : POE Oaklands SA : NOK F Dyer William. [online] Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3531099&S=1 [Accessed 6 Jun. 2024].

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Vocabulary.com. (2019). Find out How Strong Your Vocabulary Is and Learn New Words at Vocabulary.com. [online] Available at: https://www.vocabulary.com/.

www.cmhs.ca. (n.d.). Home. [online] Available at: http://www.cmhs.ca/ [Accessed 7 Jun. 2024].

www.overthefront.com. (n.d.). Home - Over The Front. [online] Available at: https://www.overthefront.com/ [Accessed 7 Jun. 2024].