Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Arthur Edward Shipley

Arthur Edward Shipley was a Private ranked soldier who fought in World War One. He was 5,6 feet tall and enrolled in the army at the age of 19 years old and 10 months. He was born in February, 1895. He weighed 145lbs, had blue eyes and sandy blonde hair, with a fair complexion. He was a Protestant which is a branch of Christianity which believes in following the faith of Jesus Christ.

Arthur was a painter, which meant he painted houses and structures for his daily job. He grew up in a family that consisted of a mother, father and brother in Broken Hill which is on the border between South Australia and New South Wales. It was believed that his brother also enlisted in the war and went to fight in France. His brother survived the war and returned back to Australia in 1919. He did not have a partner and was not married. Arthur's brother did not have any children.

Arthur enlisted for World War One on the 5th of December of 1914. He enlisted at the Oakland’s camp in South Australia.  He had had past service in other forces called the Cities Forces in the 19th Battalion. When he enrolled, he was given the service number 1544 and was ranked a private. He enrolled in Adelaide and embarked on the HMAT A54 unit on the 19th of February 1915 from Melbourne, Australia. It was unknown where he did his training, but his first posting was in Gallipoli. He was assigned to the 10th Battalion 3rd Reinforcement. He arrived in Gallipoli around the start of May 1915. He was then sent to the hospital for health problems. He was thought to have stayed in Gallipoli for around 3 months, and then left for Cairo in Egypt. He fought in some battles in Cairo, then around April 1916, he travelled to a place called Tel-el-kebir where he was assigned police duty of the ANZACS.

After leaving Egypt, Arthur then joined the 1st Australian Divisional Base depot in Étaples. Arthur was then reported A.W.O.L (Absent without official leave) from 6pm on the 7th of June 1916 until he reported at camp at 8am on the 9th. He then had to serve 3 days’ pay as forfeit. He then again went A.W.O.L from 9am on the 14th of August 1916 to 11:30am on the 15th of August. He was charged with 2 days of forfeit. He also had another run in with the law when he was absent from the billet and was charged with 10 days of forfeit. While Arthur was in France, he was sent to the hospital and treated for shell shock, which is the physical injury to the nerves. This meant he was either buried alive or was exposed to bombardment. He had also been sent to the hospital many times for bronchitis. After being treated for shell shock and bronchitis he travelled all throughout France, places like Rouen, Etaples, and Bolounge. While he was in France, Arthur was charged with Desertion, but found not guilty. He was however found guilty of A.W.O.L from 18th of April 1917 to the 28th of April. He was sentenced to 90 days field punishment and 112 days of forfeiture. However, he was rewarded for his good behavour in prison by deducting 7 days from his sentence. He was then released on the 9th of July in 1918 and was then believed to be sent to 2nd Division Tunnelling Company. It was believed that the job of tunnelling was for a specialist group to dig tunels under "no man's land" wherer the main objective was to place mines beneath enemy defensive positions. They would also help out when it came to digging the trenches. 

Just under a month after being released from prison, on the 18th of September 1918, Arthur unfortunately was killed in action. There were many eye witness reports from people in his unit, the 10th Battalion about the cause of his death. He was shot by a machine gun and was buried. This occurred between Grandpriel Wood and Chateau. Arthur's place of death was France in Jeancourt, and he was the age of 23. Arthur’s mother received all his personal items as she was his next in kin, and his brother received 25 pounds.

During Arthur’s time at war he was awarded the Victory medal. This medal was awarded to soldiers for their dedication during the war, their victories of their own battles that they fought in and fighting for their country at the risk of their own death. 

The ANZAC spirit is what is used to show the deication a solider had to his/her country. Throughout Arthur’s journeys as a soldier, he fought for his country, and did everything he could to win for his country and make them proud. This is a great example of the ANZAC spirit, which he displayed all through his time while he was at war. This showed his dedication to his country and the pride he had for his country. He died for his country, and that shows his loaylty to his country and doing whatever he can to devote himself to it. 

Arthur Edward Shipley can be found at panel number 60 on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial.

Bibliography 

Australian War Memorial 2018, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search>.

AIF project 2018, UNSW Australia, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=273860>.

Trove Australia 2018, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/87552671>.

South Australia Red cross information bureau 2018, Government of South Australia, accessed 27 March 2018, <https://sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/soldier/arthur-edward-shipley>.

National Archives of Australia 2018, Australia Government, accessed 27 March 2018, <http://www.naa.gov.au>.

Simkin, J 2016, Tunnelling and the First World War, accessed 27 March 2018, <http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWtunnelling.htm>.

NAA glossary 2018, accessed 27 March 2018, <http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/defence/abbreviations.aspx>.