STEVENS, Alfred
| Service Numbers: | W1492, WX227 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 March 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 29 May 1913 |
| Home Town: | Kellerberrin, Kellerberrin, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Kellerberrin State School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Engine Driver |
| Died: | Mandurah, Western Australia, 9 April 1979, aged 65 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Kellerberrin Cemetery, Western Australia |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 8 Mar 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Trooper, W1492, WW2 Light Horse Derived Units - Motor Regiments / Machine Gun Regiments /Armoured Car Regiments | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Dec 1940: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Corporal, W1492, WW2 Light Horse Derived Units - Motor Regiments / Machine Gun Regiments /Armoured Car Regiments | |
| 11 Dec 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, WX227, 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 24 Jan 1942: | Promoted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, ‘A’ Company, 6 Platoon - Singapore | |
| 29 Mar 1943: | Imprisoned Malaya/Singapore, 15 February 1942: Reported Missing Recovered from Japanese Changi PoW Camp | |
| 19 Sep 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, WX227, 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion, ex Singapore for Sydney per HT Arawa | |
| 11 Oct 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, WX227, 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion, ex Melbourne for Fremantle per Strathmore | |
| 8 Feb 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, WX227, 2nd/4th Machine Gun Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Alfred Stevens (Service No:WX227) initially served with the Militia (Trooper; Service No:W1492) from 8 March 1939 to 9 December 1940 and was a Corporal attached to 25th Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment when he Discharged to enlist in the AIF on 11 December 1940. He was a Private attached to 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion 'A' Coy Platoon 6 when he was promoted to Platoon Sergeant. Sergeant Stevens was reported Missing in Singapore on 15 February 1942 and on 29 March 1943 was confirmed as a PoW of the Japanese - Burma 'B' Force Borneo. He was a PoW at Adam Park in Singapore prior to leaving with B Force for Sandakan. On 26 July 1943 Sergeant Stevens was arrested at Sandakan for his role in an underground radio network. Sent to Kuchin (Kempetai HQ) he was interrogated and beaten before being found guilty and sentenced to six years penal servitude at Outram Road Goal in Singapore, arriving on 11 March 1942 - prisoners were forbidden to communicate with each other, isolated in small cells with minimal daily food and subjected to regular beatings (2/4th Machine Gun Battalion). Sergeant Stevens was evacuated to Changi Goal Hospital on 5 January 1945 suffering from Beri Beri and tropical ulcers. Recovered from the Japanese on 25 September 1945, Sergeant Stevens embarked from Singapore on board HT Arawa for Sydney, then Melbourne and the return to Fremantle WA where he was Discharged on 8 February 1946. Siblings Arthur, George and Sydney also served in WWII.
Born in 1913 in Kellerberrin WA, Alf was the second of seven children of Walter George Stevens (b1885 in Corop, Victoria) and Annie McCulloch (b1893 in Cooktown, QLD). Walter (a Farmer) and Annie married in 1910 in Northam WA and settled in Kellerberrin where they raised their family and Walter was a Farmer.
Alf was an Engine Driver at the Union Flour Mills and a keen local footballer in Kellerberrin, where in 1937 he married Muriel Maud McClelland (b1907 in Fremantle WA). Following Alf's service in WWII, he and Muriel settled in Kellerberrin where Alf was an Engine Driver. Alf and Muriel retired to Mandurah WA in the early 1970s. Alf died in 1979 and Muriel in 1995.
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