Douglas, Albert Edward

No.3087 – Private Albert Edward Douglas – 28^th Battalion AIF

Albert Edward Douglas was born in Fremantle WA in 1881 to Henry and Maria Douglas. He was educated at Fremantle State School and after leaving took up work as a Driver. In 1904 he married Janie McNab and they would have three sons from the marriage; Alan Albert born in 1910; Roy Edward in 1912 and Albert Harold in 1916.

The Douglas family resided in Point Street Fremantle. On the 7^th September 1915 Albert went to the Perth Drill Hall and enlisted into the AIF. He was found to be 5 feet 7 & ½ inches in height; weight of 141 lbs; chest measurement of 35-37 inches; fresh complexion; grey eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was Church of England.

After a month in the Depot Battalion, Albert was assigned to the 7^th Reinforcements to the 28^th Battalion. He trained with them in WA until they departed from Fremantle Harbour on the H.M.A.T. “Medic” on the 18^th January 1916. Bound for Egypt they arrived in Alexandria on the 16^th February 1916. Albert and his group were marched into the 7^th Training Battalion where they stayed for a month. They did not join the 28^th Battalion in Egypt but embarked from Alexandria on the 21^st March 1916 as 2^nd Division reinforcements. Upon arrival in Marseilles, Albert was put onto a train and sent to the North of France where he joined the 2^nd Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples.

Albert stayed at the Depot for just over a month and it wasn’t until the 3^rd May 1916 that he was taken on strength of the 28^th Battalion. The 28^th were then just to the south of Armentieres gaining experience in trench warfare. On the 18^th May Albert was evacuated back to the 6^th Field Ambulance with Influenza where he was treated and he returned the same day.

The 28^th Battalion remained near Armentieres until June 1916 when they were relieved and sent south to the Somme. The Somme offensive had been raging since July 1^st 1916 and the Australian infantry would take a large role in the offensive from late July onwards. On July 23^rd the 1^st Division captured Pozieres and were relieved a week later by the 2^nd Division who would attempt to further those gains. On July 29^th the 28^th Battalion were ordered to attack along the Pozieres road towards the German trenches. With the road being on higher ground the assault was seen by the Germans who unleashed a massive torrent of machine gun fire on the 28^th. Many men were hit in front of the German wire including Albert Douglas. A Corporal Woolnough stated that;

 “We had got well over towards Fritz’s trenches at Pozieres when Douglas, another of my boys, got wounded. Both his legs were shattered. I got him into a shell hole and bound him up, but he only lived about 25 minutes.”

A Private Alex MacDonald also stated that;

“to the left of Pozieres Pte Douglas was shot through the lungs, he was pulled into a shell hole and he seemed in great pain and died within a few minutes. They were right up to within 10 yards of the German wire when it happened…Next day a party volunteered to go out and bring in the killed and wounded but were prevented by a barrage of fire.”

Unfortunately after the war his remains could not be located as the ground where he was killed was pulverised by artillery fire. Albert Edward Douglas is named on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial to the Missing.

After his death his wife Janie and three sons would receive a pension.

Albert’s nephew Bernard Fannon would receive the Military Medal while serving with the 44^th Battalion AIF.