Allbeury, James George

3113 James George Allbeury - 46th Battalion AIF

James George Allbeury was born in Fremantle in 1898 to Charles and Jane Allbeury. He was one of five children as James had three sisters, Bieuaimee (1893), Annie (1895), Margaret (1900) and one brother Spencer (1904) and the family lived at 88 Sewell St East Fremantle. (now called 38 Sewell Street)

James was educated at Fremantle Boys School and while he was a student James became a member of the 86A Cadets of the Citizens Military Forces. After leaving school James took up work in a compositor’s office as a Printers Devil. On the 14^th November 1916 James went to the Fremantle Drill Hall to enlist in the AIF. As he was under 21 years old he needed his parents’ permission to enlist. With the signed consent form in hand, James was then able to be given a medical examination, where the medical officer found him to be fit for service and recorded James’s attributes as;

Height:                                     5 feet 7 & ½ inches;

Weight:                                    120lbs;

Chest Measurement:               31-33 inches;

Complexion:                            Fresh;

Eyes:                                       Brown;

Hair:                                        Brown;

Religious Denomination:         Church of England;

Distinctive Marks:                    Scar on wrist.

Once James had successfully enlisted he was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was allotted to No.93 Training Depot. In this depot James would learn the basics of soldiering but just over a week later he was transferred into the 8^th Reinforcements to the 46^th Battalion. Though the 46^th Battalion was a Victorian unit, a lack of reinforcements from that state meant that WA was asked to send the next reinforcement group. James trained with this reinforcement group for the next four weeks while they waited for their embarkation orders to arrive. These finally came through and on the 29^th December 1916 James and his group boarded the HMAT Persic in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for England, disembarking in Devonport on the 3^rd March 1917. The men were then disembarked and marched into the 12^th Training Battalion at Codford Camp on the Salisbury Plains.

James would spend the next five months in England training on the Salisbury Plains, though he was also given leave during this period to see the sights of England. On the 13^th August 1917 James was pit in a draft of soldiers leaving Codford Camp to proceed to France. They travelled to Southampton where they board a troopship which took them across the Channel to France. After arriving at Le Havre James and his group were marched into the 4^th Australian Division Base Depot and were taken on strength on the 7^th September 1917. When James joined the 46^th Battalion, they were out of the line undertaking a programme of training and sports, but in late September they moved to the Ypres front and took part in offensive actions at Broodseinde and Passchendaele. James came through these actions unscathed and in November the 4^th Division was sent to the French coast for a rest. However this soon changed when the Germans counter attacked at Cambrai, taking back most of the territory gained by the British in the first advance. The 4^th Australian Division were moved to Peronne as a reserve unit but were not needed at the front however they remained in this sector through the Christmas and New Year.

In January 1918 the 46^th Battalion returned to the Messines sector where they had a regular routine of front line service to reserve positions. On March 21^st 1918 the Germans launched their spring offensive which broke through the British Third and Fifth Armies, capturing much territory and large towns such as Peronne. The Third and Fourth Australian Divisions were sent south to the Somme to bring this German advance to a halt. The 46^th Battalion, as part of the 12^th Brigade, met the Germans near Dernancourt and from March 28^th to April 5^th there was much hard fighting around the railway embankment at Dernancourt, though the Australian units, were on the receiving end of a large German assault on April4/5^th they managed to hold the German advance. James came through this action unscathed and the 46^th Battalion continued to hold the line near Villers-Bretonneux for the next few months.

Once the German advance had been brought to a halt, the Allies could then plan their own advance. On August 8^th 1918, Australian, British and Canadian divisions launched their assault and completely broke the German line, pushing them back even though the fighting was severe in some quarters. The 46^th would advance well and on the 19^th August James was slightly wounded when the Germans lashed their positions with artillery fire, however the wound was slight so he remained on duty.

The Germans were being continuously pushed back and in early September Peronne was recaptured. On the 12^th September 1918 James was granted a period of leave to England. He spent a fortnight in England and upon his return on the 29^th September found the 46^th Battalion in reserve positions. While he was away the 46^th Battalion had participated in their last action of the war, though they could not know that at the time. The Australians were being given a well deserved rest out of the line due to their continuous front line service since March. The 46^th Battalion were about to return to the front line when the Armistice was announced. Once the German had withdrawn to their own borders the 4^th Division went into what had been the occupied parts of Belgium and remained here for the next several months.

On the 29^th April 1919 James returned to England and was sent into camp at Hurdcott camp to await an allotment for a ship home. On the 21^st June 1919 James boarded the transport ship Kongin Louise and set sail for Australia, arriving in Fremantle on the 2^nd August 1919. After a medical check-up at No.8 AGH in Fremantle James was released and returned home to East Fremantle. He was discharged from the AIF on the 10^th September 1919.

In 1922 James married Alice Kay in Fremantle. They resided at 96 King Street East Fremantle (now called 52 King St) and James found employment as a Printer. In 1925 they were living at "Derwent" in Elvira Street Palmyra

They lived a long life, James dying on the 26^th July 1984 and Alice on the 8^th July 1992.