Alan MARSHAL

MARSHAL, Alan

Service Number: 163
Enlisted: 19 October 1914, Brisbane, Qld.
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 17th Infantry Battalion
Born: Warwick, Queensland, Australia, 12 June 1883
Home Town: Redcliffe, Moreton Bay, Queensland
Schooling: Brisbane Grammar, Queensland, Australia
Occupation: Cricketer
Died: Enteric, Imtarfa Military Hospital, Malta, 23 July 1915, aged 32 years
Cemetery: Pieta Military Cemetery
Grave B. III. 1.
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Redcliffe Humpybong Roll of Honor, Woody Point Honour Roll
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World War 1 Service

19 Oct 1914: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 163, 15th Infantry Battalion, Brisbane, Qld.
22 Dec 1914: Involvement Private, 163, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: ''
22 Dec 1914: Embarked Private, 163, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne

Narrative


MARSHAL Alan #163 15th Battalion

Alan Marshal was a well-known cricketer in Australia and England in the years before the war. He had been born in Warwick in 1885 but his early years were spent in South Brisbane where he attended a state school. He then attended Brisbane Grammar School where he played cricket in the 1st XI. Attendance at a Grammar School (which was the only way to achieve a secondary education, there being no State High Schools) was a rarity in those years and is an indication that his family were well off.

Upon leaving school, Alan began playing cricket for South Brisbane and also was selected in a Queensland XI, although Queensland was not part of the Sheffield Shield competition. He moved to Sydney to play club cricket before going to England in 1905 to play with some of the famous cricketers of the day. Cricket at this time was a purely amateur pastime played by gentleman of independent means. In 1907, Alan qualified to play county cricket for Surrey. In 1908 he was named by Wisden’s Almanac as one of the best five players of the year and the following year was named Cricketer of the Year.

In 1910, Alan Marshal fell foul of the Surry Cricket Board following an altercation with a policeman in Cheshire. The board cancelled his contract and he returned to Australia. On the final day before his departure from England, Alan scored 259 not out in a club game, hitting 13 sixes and 36 fours.

Alan’s mother, Agnes Marshal had moved from South Brisbane to “Saint Aubyn’s” Redcliffe while her son was away. Upon arrival back in Australia, Alan lived with his mother at Redcliffe but was not able to reproduce the cricketing brilliance he had displayed in England.

Alan Marshal enlisted for the war in Brisbane on 19th October 1914, barely two months after war was declared. His enlistment papers bear evidence of his physical prowess, which was manifested in his cricket. Alan was 6 feet 3 inches tall (average height for the AIF at the time was 5 feet 7 inches) and he had a chest measurement of 40 inches. Cricket team photos from the time show him towering over the other members with particularly wide shoulders. Alan was now 30 years old; he stated his profession as cricketer and named his mother, Agnes, of St Aubyn’s Redcliffe, as his next of kin.

Alan reported for duty to Enoggera Camp and was drafted as a private into “D” Company of the 15th Battalion under the leadership of Lt Col “Bull” Cannan, a well-known businessman and citizen soldier. Training consisted of courses in army discipline, drill and musketry. In November the battalion was at full complement and embarked on two special trains bound for Wallangarra where they changed onto NSW gauge trains, an 8 hour stop over in Sydney and then on to Albury for another change before arriving at Broadmeadows Camp on 26th November. This rather arduous journey was considered safer by the authorities than the more usual route of ship from Brisbane direct to Melbourne as there was a fear of the German Navy’s China Squadron being at large in the Pacific. The squadron was in fact far to the east of Australia with the exception of the cruiser “Emden” which had sailed into the Indian Ocean to engage in commerce raiding.

The classes in Army discipline did not seem to have the desired effect on Private Alan Marshal; he was charged with being absent from camp at Broadmeadows and forfeited a day’s pay. The 15th Battalion as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade was under the leadership of Colonel John Monash. Some training took place while in camp but on 22nd December, the battalion embarked on the Transport “Ceramic” and sailed for Albany Sound to assemble a convoy that would sail for Egypt. The battalion disembarked in Alexandria on 3rd February 1915 and took train to the Aerodrome Camp near Cairo. Three days later, Alan was again charged with being absent from camp and being absent from parade. He was fined five days’ pay as a second offence. The battalion continued to train around the Mena Camp until 4th April.

The battalion boarded a transport in Alexandria and sailed for Mudros Harbour on the island of Lemnos where they began practicing boat drills in preparation for the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The 4th brigade was being held in reserve on the 25th while the landings took place and the 15th Battalion men lining the rails of the transport for a time stood off Cape Helles and observed the British landings before sailing north to the Australian beachhead where they finally landed through the night of 25th/26th April.

The brigade immediately moved up a large valley which was soon named Monash Valley after their Brigadier to a part of the line which would eventually bear the name of an officer of the 15th; Quinn’s Post. The 15th remained at Quinn’s repelling attacks for the next six weeks. During this time, it was reported that Alan Marshal thrilled his mates with his bomb throwing which some claimed he could hurl 60 yards (probably an exaggeration as the trenches were less than 20 yards apart). Those cricket skills and big shoulders had come into their own.

As the summer progressed on the peninsula, the lack of adequate water and sanitation began to have a disastrous effect on the Australians. The 15th Battalion war diary for July 1915 lists a daily count of men who went out of the line sick. One such man was Alan Marshal.

Alan must have been seriously ill as he was admitted to the Hospital Ship “Gascon” diagnosed with enteric fever (typhoid) on 11th July. He was off loaded in Malta and admitted to the Intarfa Military Hospital on 18th July where he died of disease on 23rd July. He was buried the next day in the Pieta Military Cemetery beside the hospital; with the Reverend Tobias in attendance.

The notification of Alan’s death would cause a deal of confusion for the Marshal family. Agnes was advised of his death by telegram and letter but the surname was spelled incorrectly with two “L”s. She wrote to Base Records but did not receive a satisfactory reply so in August she wrote again to the Minister of Defence, George Pearce. This letter is preserved in Alan’s file in the National Archives. The error appears to stem from an original misspelling on Alan’s enlistment papers; the officer taking his particulars probably assumed that Marshal was in fact Marshall. Subsequently, all of Alan’s documents in his file have the error corrected; sometimes in very bold red ink.

At the same time that Agnes was attempting to ascertain if the A. Marshall in the telegram was in fact her son, base records also received a letter from Mr A.G. Marshal of the Diamantina Hospital, South Brisbane with a similar enquiry and stating that he was Alan Marshal’s brother. The authorities had moved swiftly on another front though; Agnes was granted a war pension of 2 pounds per fortnight effective from Alan’s death. The pension was rejected however in March 1916 as Agnes claimed she was not dependant on her son for support. This is despite the fact that she was clearly a widow.

Agnes received three photographs of Alan’s grave in Malta, a copy of which is held in the Australian War Memorial collection. By the time that war medals and memorial scrolls were issued to Agnes, she had relocated from Redcliffe to Morningside in Brisbane.

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Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon

Alan Marshal played first-class cricket for Queensland and for Surrey County Cricket Club.

Marshal was a hard-hitting middle-order batsman and a fast-medium bowler who got some spin off the pitch. He was 6 ft 3 ins in height.

Marshal was educated and played cricket for South Brisbane State School and Brisbane Grammar School, later progressing to club cricket, playing for South Brisbane and with Paddington in Sydney.Marshal had played just eleven games for Queensland – at that time not part of the Sheffield Shield competition – when he arrived in England in 1905. He proceeded to make more than 2,700 runs in club cricket, principally for W. G. Grace's London County Cricket Club, and also played a few first-class matches for amateur teams. In 1906, he did even better: in all cricket, he scored more than 4,300 runs in the season. Qualified by residence to play Championship cricket for Surrey in 1907, he passed 1,000 runs at a respectable average of almost 25 runs per innings.

 Alan Marshal was a great-uncle of actor Alan Marshal (1909–1961).

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Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon

Son of Samuel and Agnes Marshal, of The Bungalow, Esk, Queensland.

GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAT HE LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS

Biography contributed by Ian Lang

MARSHAL  Alan  #163 15th Battalion
 
Alan Marshal was a well-known cricketer in Australia and England in the years before the war. He had been born in Warwick in 1885 but his early years were spent in South Brisbane where he attended a state school. He then attended Brisbane Grammar School where he played cricket in the 1st XI. Attendance at a Grammar School (which was the only way to achieve a secondary education, there being no State High Schools) was a rarity in those years and is an indication that his family were well off.
 
Upon leaving school, Alan began playing cricket for South Brisbane and also was selected in a Queensland XI, although Queensland was not part of the Sheffield Shield competition. He moved to Sydney to play club cricket before going to England in 1905 to play with some of the famous cricketers of the day. Cricket at this time was a purely amateur pastime played by gentleman of independent means. In 1907, Alan qualified to play county cricket for Surrey. In 1908 he was named by Wisden’s Almanac as one of the best five players of the year and the following year was named Cricketer of the Year.
 
In 1910, Alan Marshal fell foul of the Surry Cricket Board following an altercation with a policeman in Cheshire. The board cancelled his contract and he returned to Australia. On the final day before his departure from England, Alan scored 259 not out in a club game, hitting 13 sixes and 36 fours.
 
Alan’s mother, Agnes Marshal had moved from South Brisbane to “Saint Aubyn’s” Redcliffe while her son was away. Upon arrival back in Australia, Alan lived with his mother at Redcliffe but was not able to reproduce the cricketing brilliance he had displayed in England.
 
Alan Marshal enlisted for the war in Brisbane on 19th October 1914, barely two months after war was declared. His enlistment papers bear evidence of his physical prowess, which was manifested in his cricket. Alan was 6 feet 3 inches tall (average height for the AIF at the time was 5 feet 7 inches) and he had a chest measurement of 40 inches. Cricket team photos from the time show him towering over the other members with particularly wide shoulders. Alan was then 30 years old; he stated his profession as cricketer and named his mother, Agnes, of St Aubyn’s Redcliffe, as his next of kin.
 
Alan reported for duty to Enoggera Camp and was drafted as a private into “D” Company of the 15thBattalion under the leadership of Lt Col “Bull” Cannan, a well-known businessman and citizen soldier. Training consisted of courses in army discipline, drill and musketry. In November the battalion was at full complement and embarked on two special trains bound for Wallangarra where they changed onto NSW gauge trains, an 8 hour stop over in Sydney and then on to Albury for another change before arriving at Broadmeadows Camp on 26th November. This rather arduous journey was considered safer by the authorities than the more usual route of ship from Brisbane direct to Melbourne as there was a fear of the German Navy’s China Squadron being at large in the Pacific. The squadron was in fact far to the east of Australia with the exception of the cruiser “Emden” which had sailed into the Indian Ocean to engage in commerce raiding.
 
The classes in Army discipline did not seem to have the desired effect on Private Alan Marshal; he was charged with being absent from camp at Broadmeadows and forfeited a day’s pay. The 15th Battalion as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade was under the leadership of Colonel John Monash. Some training took place while in camp but on 22nd December, the battalion embarked on the Transport “Ceramic” and sailed for Albany Sound to assemble a convoy that would sail for Egypt. The battalion disembarked in Alexandria on 3rdFebruary 1915 and took train to the Aerodrome Camp near Cairo. Three days later, Alan was again charged with being absent from camp and being absent from parade. He was fined five days’ pay as a second offence. The battalion continued to train around the Mena Camp until 4th April.
 
The battalion boarded a transport in Alexandria and sailed for Mudros Harbour on the island of Lemnos where they began practicing boat drills in preparation for the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The 4thbrigade was being held in reserve on the 25th while the landings took place and the 15th Battalion men lining the rails of the transport for a time stood off Cape Helles and observed the British landings before sailing north to the Australian beachhead where they finally landed through the night of 25th/26th April.
 
The brigade immediately moved up a large valley which was soon named Monash Valley after their Brigadier to a part of the line which would eventually bear the name of an officer of the 15th; Quinn’s Post. The 15thremained at Quinn’s repelling attacks for the next six weeks. During this time, it was reported that Alan Marshal thrilled his mates with his bomb throwing which some claimed he could hurl 60 yards (probably an exaggeration as the trenches were less than 20 yards apart). Those cricket skills and big shoulders had come into their own.
 
As the summer progressed on the peninsula, the lack of adequate water and sanitation began to have a disastrous effect on the Australians. The 15th Battalion war diary for July 1915 lists a daily count of men who went out of the line sick. One such man was Alan Marshal.
 
Alan must have been seriously ill as he was admitted to the Hospital Ship “Gascon” diagnosed with enteric fever (typhoid) on 11th July. He was off loaded in Malta and admitted to the Intarfa Military Hospital on 18thJuly where he died of disease on 23rd July. He was buried the next day in the Pieta Military Cemetery beside the hospital; with the Reverend Tobias in attendance.
 
The notification of Alan’s death would cause a deal of confusion for the Marshal family. Agnes was advised of his death by telegram and letter but the surname was spelled incorrectly with two “L”s. She wrote to Base Records but did not receive a satisfactory reply so in August she wrote again to the Minister of Defence, George Pearce. This letter is preserved in Alan’s file in the National Archives. The error appears to stem from an original misspelling on Alan’s enlistment papers; the officer taking his particulars probably assumed that Marshal was in fact Marshall. Subsequently, all of Alan’s documents in his file have the error corrected; sometimes in very bold red ink.
 
At the same time that Agnes was attempting to ascertain if the A. Marshall in the telegram was in fact her son, base records also received a letter from Mr A.G. Marshal of the Diamantina Hospital, South Brisbane with a similar enquiry and stating that he was Alan Marshal’s brother. The authorities had moved swiftly on another front though; Agnes was granted a war pension of 2 pounds per fortnight effective from Alan’s death. The pension was rejected however in March 1916 as Agnes claimed she was not dependant on her son for support. This is despite the fact that she was clearly a widow.
 
Agnes received three photographs of Alan’s grave in Malta, a copy of which is held in the Australian War Memorial collection. By the time that war medals and memorial scrolls were issued to Agnes, she had relocated from Redcliffe to Morningside in Brisbane.

Read more...