Information about birth

Date of birth:
15/04/1895
Place of birth:
Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia

General information

Profession:
Labourer

Army information

Country:
Australia
Force:
Australian Imperial Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
2367
Enlistment date:
07/06/1916
Enlistment place:
Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Units:
 —  Australian Infantry, 54th Bn.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
17/10/1917
Place of death:
Celtic Wood, Zonnebeke, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
22

Cemetery

Tyne Cot Cemetery
Plot: XXXIII
Row: G
Grave: 1

Distinctions and medals 2

Points of interest 3

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place
#3 Place of death (approximate)

My story

Alfred Adams was born in 1895 in Dubbo, New South Wales. He was the son of Edward and Emma Adams and worked as a labourer till he joined the Australian Expeditionary Force in June 1916.

By February 1917 he served in “A” Company of the 54th Battalion Australian Infantry, part of the 14th Australian Brigade, of the 5th Australian Division. From September onward the Division participated in the Battle of Passchendaele. Seeing action in The Battle of the Menin Road (20 – 25 Sep), The Battle of Polygon Wood (26 Sep – 3 Oct), The Battle of Poelcapelle (9 Oct) and The First Battle of Passchendaele (12 Oct).

On the 17th of October 1917, the 54th Battalion relieved the 59th Battalion in the frontline at the hamlet of Molenaarelsthoek on the Broodseinde Ridge. At 5 p.m. all Companies set out from the Westhoek Ridge. The relief was completed without casualties by 7 p.m., with “A” Company taking up positions in the first line near Celtic. About 10 p.m. the frontline was heavily shelled by the German artillery. Four other ranks were killed and 41 men were wounded, due to the shelling. According to an eyewitness report, Alfred was sitting down in a trench at Celtic when a shell exploded near to him, killing him outright. The 22-year old was buried by his comrades close to where he fell. His remains were exhumed after the war and interred in Tyne Cot Cemetery.

Files 1

Sources 4

54th Australian Infantry Battalion, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/71/21).
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Sources used
Australian War Memorial
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P11026989
Sources used
First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, ADAMS A).
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx.
Sources used
St. Claire R., Our gift to the empire : 54th Australian Infantry Battalion, 1916-1919, (St Claire Ross, Newcastle, 2006), pg. 145-149.
Sources used

More information 4