Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Parents: George Weaver and Clara Weaver, Lamber Street, Rosewater, South Australia

Sons:

1191 William Alfred Weaver of the 10th Battalion, Died of Wounds on 23 May 1915

771 Frederick Henry Weaver of the 9th Light Horse Regiment, Killed in Action 28 August 1915

1842 Charles John Weaver of the 16th Battalion, Died of illness on 16 May 1917 in France whilst a POW

2176 Alfred Charles Weaver of the 4th Battalion Imperial Camel Corps, Died of wounds 31 March 1918

3647 George Victor Weaver of the 40th Battalion, returned to Australia 25 January 1919

Headstone Inscription: TOO FAR AWAY YOUR GRAVE TO SEE BUT NOT TOO FAR TO THINK OF THEE

Contributed by Mount Carmel College

Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver was born in Rosewater, Australia (then called Greytown) on the 7th of April 1895. His parents’ names were George Alfred and Clara Weaver. Weaver lived in Lambert Street. He spent his schooling years at Port Adelaide Public School. In 1985 the school was closed and was converted into the current Taudondi Aboriginal College. Weaver had four other brothers that fought in the same war as him. He and another three of them died during the course of the war and only one of his brothers survived the war. His last unit was the 4 Battalion Imperial Camel Corps. His occupation before his enlistment into the army was as a laborer. Laborers performed different types of manual labour. Some examples of these tasks are, digging trenches, unloading building materials, and preparing job sites. Alfred Charles Weaver was not married and had no children. His only family were his parents and his ten siblings. Unfortunately, three of his brothers were killed in battle during WWI and shortly afterward, he was also killed in battle.

Service during World War 1-
Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver enlisted on the 7th of January in 1916. He was assigned the service number, 2176. He embarked for war on the 16th of March in 1916. The ship that he embarked on was called the HMAT Anchises A68. He started in the army as a Private. When he enlisted, he was part of the 9th Light Horse Regiment. The 9th Light Horse Regiment was a mounted rifle regiment of the Australian Army during World War 1. The regiment was assigned to the 3rd Light Horse Regiment. The regiment was formed in Adelaide and was trained in Melbourne. In February of 1916, the 9th Light Horse Regiment arrived in Egypt and joined the 3rd Light Horse Regiment. The regiment participated in many crucial battles during the campaign. One of the major battles they fought was the Battle of Romani in August of 1916 where they halted the Turkish advance toward the Suez Canal. This proved to be a highly strategic victory. After this major battle, the regiment was involved in the pursuit of the defeated Turkish forces. Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver was also part of 4 Battalion Imperial Camel Corps. This was because as more Australian and British soldiers arrived in the Middle East it was found that there was a lack of enough water to sustain the horses that the cavalry rode. This resulted in many soldiers from the calvary corps converting to the Imperial Camel Corps. 4 Battalion Imperial Camel Corps was formed in 1916 by the British army and multiple Commonwealth countries to be a part of the British Army’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force. This campaign operated primarily within the Middle East including countries such as, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Lebanon. A major battle that was fought by this unit was the Battle of Beersheba in which a calvary charge was done to Beersheba, a town at the end of the Turkish defensive line. The Imperial Camel Corps (of which 4 Battalion Imperial Camel Corps was a part) took part in assisting multiple Light Horse Regiments to storm the Turkish defences and take over the town and the walls. This victory was a major change in the tide of the war in the Middle East.

Weaver’s Personal Experience-
Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver was wounded on the 30th of March in 1918. What type of wounds and/or injuries he received are not specified in any documents nor are the facts of how he was wounded. Unfortunately, Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver died because of his severe wounds the next day on the 31st of March 1918. This was the fateful ending of the story of a great soldier who fought valiantly for his country. He was 23 years old at the time of his death. He was buried at the Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery in Row E, Grave 32. His gravestone inscription is ‘Too far away your grave to see but not too far to think of thee’.

Bibliography

1.            Advertiser 1927, ‘Family Notices’, 31 March, Adelaide, South

Australia, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40776410>.

2.            Alfred Charles Weaver n.d., www.awm.gov.au, viewed 31 March 2023, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1667407>.

3.            Alfred Charles Weaver n.d., www.awm.gov.au, viewed 31 March 2023, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1962751>.

4.            Alfred Charles Weaver n.d., www.awm.gov.au, viewed 31 March 2023, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2262661>.

5.            Alfred Charles Weaver n.d., geni_family_tree, viewed 4 May 2023,

<https://www.geni.com/people/Alfred- Weaver/6000000031488518413>.

6.            Australian War Memorial 2016a, Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick, Awm.gov.au.

7.            ― 2016b, Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick, Awm.gov.au.

8.            Cabinet, c=AU; o=The S of Q ou=Department of the P and C ou=Department of the P and 2018, The Battle of Beersheba, anzac100.initiatives.qld.gov.au.

9.            CWGC n.d., Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver | War Casualty Details 897546, CWGC, viewed 31 March 2023, <https://www.cwgc.org/find- records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/897546/alfred-charles- weaver/>.

10.            Daily Herald 1918, ‘FOUR SONS KILLED.’, 14 May, Adelaide, South Australia, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/124545215>.

11.            Imperial Camel Corps – The Battle of Beersheba n.d., Summer Land Camels.

12.            Morley, J n.d., Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver Imperial Camel Corps (Australian). Died Sunday 31 March 1918, A Street Near You, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://www.astreetnearyou.org/person/897546/Trooper-Alfred- Charles-Weaver>.

13.            Observer 1917, ‘A PATRIOTIC FAMILY.’, 8 September, Adelaide, South Australia, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164136029>.

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COUNTRY.’, 18 May, Adelaide, South Australia, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164153873>.

15.               Overview -World War I in the Middle East n.d.

16.            Papers of John Smith (as filmed by the AJCP) n.d., Trove, viewed 31 March 2023, <https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-742755230/findingaid>.

17.               Private John Smith n.d., www.awm.gov.au, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10265210>.

18.               Register 1918, ‘"MOTHER’S NOBLE SACRIFICE.’, 14 May, Adelaide,

South Australia, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/60358152>.

19.            Sergeant William Jones n.d., www.awm.gov.au, viewed 31 March 2023, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10246185>.

20.               Southern Cross 1918, ‘ANZACS IN ACTION OUR FALLEN HEROES.’, 19

April, Adelaide, South Australia, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/166986155>.

21.            The history of forgetting, from shell shock to PTSD 2014, ABC Radio National.

22.            Trooper Alfred Charles Weaver n.d., www.awm.gov.au, viewed 31 March 2023, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10270711>.

23.            WEAVER Alfred Charles : Service Number - 2176 : Place of Birth - Rosewater SA : Place of Enlistment - Adelaide SA : Next of Kin - (Mother) WEAVER Clara 1914, National Archives of Australia, viewed 31 March 2023,

<https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewIm age.aspx?B=12120735>.