BENSON, Alfred Ernest
| Service Number: | 3046 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1914, Blackboy Hill, WA |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | Divisional Ammunition Column |
| Born: | Perth, WA, 1886 |
| Home Town: | Mount Lawley, Vincent, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | James Street State School Perth |
| Occupation: | Civil Servant |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 7 May 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
Shell Green Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula II K 29, Shell Green Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mount Lawley - Inglewood War Memorial , Perth St. George's Cathedral Choir Honour Roll, WA Chief Railways Auditor of Receipts Branch Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 3046, Divisional Ammunition Column, Blackboy Hill, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1914: | Involvement Driver, 3046, Divisional Ammunition Column, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1914: | Embarked Driver, 3046, Divisional Ammunition Column, HMAT Medic, Fremantle | |
| 7 May 1915: | Involvement Gunner, 3046, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3046 awm_unit: 8th Australian Field Artillery Battery awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1915-05-07 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of John and Mary Ann BENSON, 40 Chelmsford Road, North Perth, Western Australia
Commemorated (bronze plaque) in St George's Cathdral, Perth, Western Australia: 'Members of the Cathedral Choir who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1918. The stop on the Great Organ Lieblick Gedacht is given by fellow choristers and friends Anzac Day 1931.' Second brass plaque beneath window ('Member of the choir of this Cathedral').
GUNNER ALFRED ERNEST BENSON, killed in action at the Dardanelles, 8th Battery, A.F. Artillery, formerly of the Audit Department of the Railway Department; next of kin, mother, 9 Hutt-street, Mt. Lawley. A most extraordinary set of circumstances surrounded the fate of Gunner Benson. Several weeks ago a letter was received by his family from Major Bessell-Browne, a personal friend, acquainting them that on May 7 the Gunner had been killed, by shrapnel while af lunch. Later, this news was confirmed in a 'letter received from a friend of the Gunner, and still later the mother of another soldier waited upon Mrs. Benson to offer condolences, and produced the letter of her son, in which he stated that Gunner Benson had been killed and been decently buried. Gunner Benson's death not figuring in the official casualty lists, the family sought information from the Military Department, and a cable was sent to the front by the Department, which elicited the reply: 'Gunner A. E. Benson, No. 3046, wounded, in hospital, Cairo.' The previous reports concerning the death of the Gunner were brought under the attention of the department, and another telegram was sent to the front, asking again for information, To this the reply came as before: 'Gunner A. E. Benson, No. 3046, wounded; in hospital.' The Gunner has a brother at the front, and a cable was sent to 'him seeking information. His reply was, (June, 24), Alfred's death painless.' Only to-day the official news is published that Gunner Benson was killed in action. The official news is thus two months and two weeks belated. There will be general sympathy with tho bereaved family in the accentuation of their pain of loss by the manner in which its happening has been shrouded.
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