Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Life Before The War:
Albert Ernest Franks was born on the 26th of December, 1894, in Birmingham, England.  A member of the Church of England, he had dark hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.  Records show that he worked as an apprentice in Birmingham for three years.  He was also part of the Imperial Yeomanry, a volunteer mounted force, for three years. As a young man, he moved to Adelaide, South Australia where he lived in Hurtle Square, in the south-eastern part of the city. Records show that Albert lived under the care of a woman named Mrs Farrell, along with his older brother, Wilfred Harry, a mechanic, who also enlisted at the same time as Albert.
 
Albert enlisted on the 25th of August, 1914 at Morphettville, South Australia.  Before enlisting for the war, he was a draper in Adelaide. He was 21, unmarried and had no children at the time. He was about 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighed 146 pounds (approximately 66 kilograms) at the time of enlistment.  He was given the regimental number 587 and placed in the 10th Battalion. Roughly two months after enlistment, he embarked for Active Service Abroad onboard the HMAT A11 'Ascanius' on the 20th of October with the rank of private, the lowest rank in the army.
 
Life During The War:
The 10th Battalion, along with Albert, sailed with an ANZAC convoy, heading for the Middle East.  Eventually, on the 1st of December, 1914, the battalion reached Port Said, in north-east Egypt and trained for several months at the Mena Camp, in the shadow of the pyramids. However, this training could never prepare them for the horrors awaiting them in Gallipoli.  On the 24th of April, 1915, the 10th Battalion embarked for Gallipoli via a battleship, the HMS 'Prince of Wales'.  They landed in Gallipoli on the 25th of April and during the battle, played a vital role in defending against a major Turkish counterattack.
 
The Battle of Gallipoli was a joint operation which was mounted by the British and French to take the capital of the Ottoman Empire.  A land attack involving the ANZACs, British and the French lasted 9 months.  Albert's battalion was acknowledged by C.E.W. Bean, the official historian, since they made it further inland than any other Australian force.
 
On the 12th of September, 1915, Albert was admitted into the hospital with diarrhoea.  While he was in the hospital, his comrades were still fighting in Gallipoli.  For soldiers in the trenches, the living conditions were atrocious because of the constant noise, lack of hygiene, cold, lack of rest, thirst, disease and death. The poor sanitation within the trenches allowed diseases and medical conditions like typhoid, trench fever, trench foot, diarrhoea and scabies to take a huge toll on the soldiers.
 
On the 16th of September, he was then moved to Malta where he was admitted to St. Patricks hospital with dysentery.  From the spring of 1915, Malta played an important role in the Gallipoli Campaign as it was where many of the Australian and New Zealand wounded or sick were evacuated for medical treatment.  On the 11th of the November, he was transferred to Ghain Tuffieha, a medical camp in Malta 10 miles from St Patricks, with enteritis.  This might have been done since hospitals were becoming crowded and were not able to admit new cases.  
 
Albert was then transferred to Spinola, Malta for duty.  On the 4th of March, 1916, he embarked for Serapeum, Egypt onboard the Megantic. On the 2nd of April, he joined the 50th Battalion, a branch of the 10th battalion, created in Egypt, 1916.  Since the 50th Battalion was the 'pup' of the 10th, it had the same colours on its patch and its men were also primarily taken from South Australia. By this time the Battle of Gallipoli had ended as the Allied forces retreated.
 
On the 6th of May, 1916, he embarked from Alexandria, Egypt and disembarked at Plymouth, England on the 16th of June.  On the 15th of March, 1917, Albert proceeded overseas to Etaples, France, where he rejoined the 50th Battalion. On the 19th of June he was transferred to the 13th Light Trench Mortar Battery, which was attached to the same 13th Brigade as the 50th Battalion. On the 29th of July, he attended the School of Instruction, which was started by a soldier named Edward Colston.  The school taught soldiers about technology like signal and telephone operations, artillery warfare and grenadier (bomb-throwing).  Unfortunately, several days later he was admitted into the hospital with scabies.  He was transferred to the 50th battalion Casualty Clearing Station and then again transferred to the 3rd General Hospital since he developed septic sores.  On the 4th of August, 1918, Albert went to England while on leave.  Whilst on leave he fell ill and was admitted into the hospital. 
 
On the 19th of February, 1919, he finally embarked for Australia on board the Orca and disembarked in Adelaide 1 month later.  After 4 long years of service, Albert was discharged from the A.I.F on the 19th of April, 1919.
 
Life After The War:
After the war, Albert received three medals. He received the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.  He was awarded these medals since he showed great determination, courage and resilience during his service. Despite his illnesses, he continued to fight for Australia until the end of the war.