Gilbride, Alfred

5721 Private Alfred Gilbride - 16th Battalion AIF

Alfred Gilbride was born in Beverley in 1890 to James and Ellen Gilbride. He had nine siblings with Andrew (1888), May (1892), Ellen (1894), Albert (1898), Arthur (1899), Bertha (1902), Anna (1904), Kate (1907) and James (1909). The family lived at Beverley until they moved to Fremantle in Wardie Street.

After leaving school Alfred took up employment as a machinery assembler and was living at 277 High Street Fremantle.

On the 3rd March 1916 Alfred enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Fremantle. He was found to be fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 7 inches;

Weight - 123lbs;

Chest Measurement - 31-33 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Brown;

Hair - Brown.

After his successful enlistment Alfred was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.56 Training Depot. He had his basic infantry training here and on the 4th April 1916 he was assigned to the 18th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF.

He trained with the reinforcement group in WA for the next few months and on the 13th July 1916 embarked from Fremantle aboard the transport ship HMAT Seang Bee. After a long sea voyage the ship arrived at Plymouth on the 9th September 1916.

After arriving Alfred was sent into the 4th Training Battalion at Rollestone Camp on the Salisbury Plains. He trained here and at Codford Camp for the next few months.

On the 16th January 1917 he left England for France and set sail from Folkestone to Etaples. After a few days in the 4th Australian Division Base Depot, Alfred joined the 16th Battalion in the field on the 21st January 1917.

The 16th Battalion were then on the Somme battlefield and Alfred would see action at Stormy Trench in February 1917.

The Germans soon withdrew to a pre-prepared defensive position known as the Hindenburg Line. They conducted a fighting withdrawal and by early April 1917 they were in these defensive positions. As part of wider operations, the Australians were ordered to attack Bullecourt without artillery support and just with the use of tanks. Tanks were still in the early stages of development and still unreliable.

Needless to say, the attack was a disaster, and even though the Australians made it to the German trenches they were soon surrounded and unable to get back to their own lines.

Alfred made it through to the German lines without getting hit but as no supplies were getting through, they were soon out of ammunition and had to surrender. Amid the scuffles with the Germans before they had surrendered Alfred had been wounded in the left hand by a bayonet. Alfred was taken Prisoner of War on April 11th, 1917.

He remained a prisoner in Germany for the remainder of the war. After his capture he was taken to Dulmen prisoner of War Camp and was able to send a card back home which stated;

'Please notify my people where I am'

Even though it was only a short message allowed by the German captors, the card was sent through the Red Cross and Alfred's relatives were subsequently informed of his capture. It was an important contact for the relatives at home as previous to this Alfred had been listed as 'Missing in Action'.

A few weeks later Alfred was able to send another card which simply stated;

'Doing Well'

On the 4th June 1917 Alfred was transferred to Munster Camp in Westfalia. While they were in camps in Germany the rations were often sparse and packages that came through the Red Cross were greatly needed as the men were sent to work in coal mines or on farms. Alfred had been put on farmwork and later told medical authorities that they were overworked and underfed.

At the end of the war Alfred was repatriated through Copenhagen in December 1918 after which he left for England. On arrival he was sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp and was given a full medical assessment. The doctor found that the wound to his hand had healed but that Alfred had a persistent cough and was pale, thin and debilitated.

On the 3rd March 1919 Alfred boarded the transport ship Euripides and set sail for home, disembarking in Fremantle on the 10th April 1919.

After arriving home Alfred was sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle for another medical assessment and was found to be suffering from lung trouble and debility.

He returned to his prewar career of being a mechanic at the State Implement Works in North Fremantle.

In 1920 he married Ellen Bingham in Perth and they moved to Mount Claremont.

Unfortunately ill health plagued Alfred on his return from the war and he died on the 2nd June 1925 aged 35. He shot himself in the head at his house in Adderley Street Mount Claremont He was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery plot Roman Catholic DA 0484.