Guy, Alfred
Lieutenant Alfred Guy - 44th Battalion AIF and Swan Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps
Alfred Alexande Guy was born in Burwood Sydney NSW on the 8th September 1892.
He was educated in Sydney but then the family moved to Western Australia where Alfred completed his education at Perth High School and after leaving school he found employment as a Bank Clerk for the Bank of NSW.
During his early years Alfred served for three years in the 87B (Subiaco) Cadets of the Citizen Military Forces.
In 1914 Alfred married Irene Quick in Perth and they moved into Irene's parents place in Harvest Road North Fremantle.
On the 14th January 1916, Alfred enlisted into the AIF. The medical examiner recorded Alfred's physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 5 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 119lbs;
Chest Measurement - 32-35 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Fair.
Alfred attended Duntroon Officers college and was then promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and left Fremantle with the 44th Battalion aboard the transport ship Suevic. After the long sea journey the ship arrived at Plymouth Harbour England on the 21st July 1916.
The 44th Battalion trained on the Salisbury Plains till November 1916 when they then received their orders to proceed to France. After arriving in France they were sent to the front line positions at Armentieres. Alfred was then promoted to Lieutenant.
On the 5th January 1917 Alfred was wounded and was evacuated to hospital, not rejoining the 44th Battalion until March 1917.
The 44th Battalion moved to the Ploegsteert sector in southern Belgium and in June 1917 took part in the Battle of Messines. Alfred survived the initial battle but the 44th Battalion continued to hold the line through to July 1917.
On the 10th July 1917 Alfred was shot in the head. Captain Cyril Longmore related what happened;
One misty morning Fritz was very daring. In spite of the fact that the trenches at one part of the front were but twenty-five or thirty yards apart, a sniping contest was taking place at anything from 30 to 200 yards distance, and just as one of the boys signaled a “bull”, Lieutenant “Alf” Guy, with C.S.M. Dick Cornish, of “A” Company, with more daring than judgment, looked over the top to investigate. The two tin hats at this short distance formed a target which even the worst shot in the German Army could hardly fail to score on, and without a sound, the little lieutenant fell to the bottom of the trench, a shot passing through his tin hat and left side of the head. Cornish immediately reported the casualty to the next officer in charge of the line, and an inspection revealed the sad fact that Alf was apparently “out for keeps”.
Laying him aside and attending to the at the moment more important business of getting even, the sniping continued, and Sergeant Bert May immediately evened the score by knocking a Fritz’s cap (together with a good part of his skull) a good three feet in the air. There was no doubt about this Boche going West. However when matters had quieted down a little there was another look at Lieut. Guy, chiefly with the object of collecting his personal belongings to send home, and of performing a hasty trench burial. Before the burial arrangements were complete, however, Alf showed unmistakable signs of life, and after canceling the order for burial and amending the casualty report, the officer in charge had him taken out of the trench to the more or less safe precincts of the advanced dressing stations situated about 300 yards from the front line where the doc. pronounced the little officer had a fighting chance… It fell to the lot of a few men even in the Great War to have their brains blown on to another man’s tin hat and live, but that is exactly what happened in this case.
Making an amazing recovery after being shot in the head, Alfred was invalided back to WA. A loss of movement in one arm and leg led to some hard times. After arriving back in North Fremantle, Alfred Guy decided to take up farming and purchased a property at Katanning and later moved to the Swan Valley. Continued health trouble had led to Alfred going to Melbourne to consult specialists.
Despite this, when World War Two commenced, Alfred offered his services again. He would command the 3rd Swan Battalion of the Volunteer Defence Corps. (W47967) He was promoted to Captain and continued to lead the unit when they converted from infantry to form 455 Troop No.25 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery. For his services from 1940 to 1945 Alfred was recommended for the MBE by the Commander of the Western Command Major General A.J. Boase and this was endorsed by the Commander of the Australian Military Forces, general Blamey.
Alfred lived a long life, dying on the 26th April 1965.