Carey, Alfred David

7186 Private Alfred David Carey OBE - 4th Division Train AIF & Captain in Royal Naval Air Service

Alfred David Carey was born on the 29th July 1893 in Thebarton South Australia to Theophilus and Jane Carey. He was one of several siblings with, George 1874, Ruth 1877, Alice 1879, Gertrude 1881, Edith 1883, Theophilus 1885, Marry 1887 and May.

Not long after his birth the family moved to Western Australia and resided in the Claremont region. Alfred was initially educated at Cottesloe State School and completed his schooling at Scotch College in Claremont. 

Sadly his mother Jane died in Claremont on the 23rd November 1907 and his father on the 25th July 1913. Alfred then went to live with his sister Ruth Randall in View Terrace East Fremantle.

Alfred was working as a Grocery warehouseman in Fremantle prior to his enlistment.

On the 28th June 1915 Alfred enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be physically fit for enlistment and was accepted for service. The medical examiner recorded his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 11 & 1/4 inches;

Weight - 147lbs;

Chest Measurement - 35-37 inches;

Complexion - Dark;

Eyes - Grey;

Hair - Black.

Upon his successful enlistment Alfred was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the Australian Army Service Corps. He was sent to Victoria to complete his training and was then attached to the 9th Reinforcements to the 4th Australian Army Service Corps. Alfred and his group then left Port Melbourne aboard the transport ship HMAT Star of Victoria.

The ship set sail for Egypt and after arriving Alfred was taken on strength of the 4th Company AASC on the 18th October 1915. He was promoted to Driver for his unit and they were then seconded to the Western Frontier Force.

The Western Frontier Force involved fighting the Senussi people of the Libyan desert which was part of the broader campaign against the Ottoman Empire. This attachment only lasted a few weeks for Alfred as he soon fell ill and was sent to the 15th General Hospital at Alexandria. After a few weeks here he was sent to England by hospital ship where he was admitted to the County of London War Hospital in London. Alfred was a patient here through January and February 1916.

It appears that Alfred had suffered from a hernia as he was being kept in hospital through the next few months.

In September 1916 Alfred requested a transfer to the Royal Naval Air Service. This was accepted but Alfred first had to be discharged from the Australian Imperial Force. He was officially discharged from the AIF on the 23rd September 1916.

He was then ordered to report to the Royal Naval Air Service Training Establishment at Crystal Palace. Alfred was then commissioned into the Royal Naval Air Service as a Probationary Flight Officer

Flying Training for Alfred then took place which he passed and he was appointed a Flight Sub Lieutenant in November 1916. He spent the next few months at the RNAS Base at Cranwell.

By April 1917 Alfred was now an Acting Flight Lieutenant.

For his initial service from December 1916 to September 1917, Alfred was posted in England, Malta and then on the aircraft carrier HMS Furious.

In September 1917 Alfred was promoted to First Lieutenant and the same month was posted to the RNAS Base Mudros off the Turkish coast.

In November 1917 Alfred was promoted to Acting Flight Commander then Senior Flying Officer aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

In April 1918 the Royal Naval Air Service merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force. Alfred was now promoted to Acting Captain & Adjutant of No.72 Wing. He held this post to the end of the war.

During this time Alfred had also attended the Naval Staff College at Greenwich.

In January 1919 Alfred was Adjutant for RAF North Russia Relief Force.

Then in June 1919 he was promoted to Acting Major and second in command of the RAF North Russia Relief Force at Archangel.

In December 1919 Alfred was posted to the unattached officers list.

As well as the normal decorations of the 1914/15 Star, Victory Medal and British War Medal, Alfred was awarded a Mentioned in Despatches; a Commander Order of St Anne and Commander of the Order of Saint Stanislas.

He had also been wounded once in the war as he was able to wear 1 war wound stripe on his uniform.

He then remained in the UK  and in October 1922 Alfred got married to Violet Dixon.

They were for a few years but it appears not to have lasted and they were divorced in 1931. In 1932 he re-married to Margaritte Helen Babette Scott. They would have two daughters, Pixie and Jane.

In 1934 Alfred was living in Hendon England.

On the 10th August 1935 they left Liverpool England and returned to Australia, taking up residence in Victoria.

Alfred saw further service with the Royal Australian Air Force in Australia during World War Two, enlisting in 1939.

He was appointed a Flying Officer on the 25th September 1939, then the same day was appointed a Flight Lieutenant. The next promotion as the following year when he was made a Squadron Leader on the 1st June 1940.

He was at this rank through 1941 but on the 1st January 1942 was appointed a Wing Commander and he then rose to the rank of Group Captain. He had served in RAAF HQ in South Australia as well as at RAAF HQ at Parkes and Ascot Vale. He was discharged from the RAAF in February 1945.

As well as his previous WW1 awards, he was awarded the WW2 service medals and was also made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

After World War Two, Alfred went to work at the Golf House at Mount Macedon.

Alfred died on the 8th February 1949 in Victoria and is buried at Carlton Cemetery.

(WW1 photo courtesy family ancestry site)