Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alfred Ernest Beagley was born on 1 April 1885 in Brompton Park, Hindmarsh South Australia. His profession was a brickmaker and he was an active member of the Hindmarsh Federated Brick, Tile & Pottery Industrial union. Alfred was married to Florence Mary who was born in 1885. They got married in the year 1905 at the age of 20. They had two children together. One of whom was named Leslie Beagley. They were a Methodist family and according to his attestation papers, they lived on Green Street, Brompton SA.i

Beagley enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 16 July 1915 in Keswick, South Australia. He was 30 years and 4 months when he enlisted.  According to his enlisted papers from NAA. He was 5 feet 8 ¼ inches, weighed 143Ibs, and had a fair complexion and brown hair. He also had a tattoo on both his arms. 

After his enlistment, he embarked on active service abroad on 14 September 1915. After arriving in Alexandria, Egypt, on 6 January 1916ii, he undertook training and was taken on strength (a term referring to a person being added to a military organization) to the 12th Battalion. The 12th Battalion withdrew from the Gallipoli fights not long after Beagley joined. It would be safe to assume that most of his fighting with the 12 Battalion was done after it had returned to Egypt. Due to huge losses at Gallipoli, the AIF went through a process of ‘doubling’ in which Battalions were made larger in size. This impacted Beagley’s war experience when fresh Australian reinforcements were added.

Beagley transferred to the 52nd Battalion on 1 March 1916. This Battalion was raised at Tel el Kebir in Egypt. Iv This larger Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Beevor and became part of the 13th Brigade attached to the 4th Australian Division. The Battalion had a short period of time training intensely in Egypt before embarking to Europe on HMT Ivernia landing at Marseilles in France on 12 June 1916. They then travelled north to complete more training in gas warfare receiving new equipment to prepare them for Trench Warfare. Although they spent time near the fighting at a location named Petillion, their first real battle in France was in the middle of August where they supported the early fighting during the Battle of Mouquet Farm on the Western Front. In early September their Battalion launched an attack at Mouquet Farm and were involved in capturing land at Fabeck Graben. They did secure the land for a short time but were forced back with more than 170 casualties including 9 officers, Beagley survived this spending over 18 months including the harsh winter on the front alternating between the trenches and support base. The battalion saw out the rest of the year alternating between front-line duty, and training and labouring behind the line. This routine continued through the bleak winter of 1916-'17. In February 1918, Beagley was granted leave for two weeks.v

Despite the end of the war, Beagley was unable to go home to his family. Disease was common amongst the soldiers at war as a result of the living conditions and in December 1918, he caught Pyrexia Fever and was admitted to the F.Amb (Field Ambulance1). On 18 December 1918 he was transferred to 2nd A.G.H (Australian General Hospital2) and then on 24 December he was finally admitted to Birmingham Hospital with influenza. By January 1919 Beagley was discharged from the hospital and granted leave of absence from military duty. He left England for Australia and could finally head back home to his family arriving in Adelaide on 20 March 1919 where he was discharged from the A.I.F.

Once home Beagley lived a long life in Hindmarsh. Beagley lived until his death on 22 May 1972 at the age of 87. He was laid to lie with his wife who died a few years prior in 1968 at Linden Park, South Australia. His name can be found in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and also at Hindmarsh Fire and Folk Museum, on the Hindmarsh Federated Brick, Tile & Pottery Industrial Union Roll of Honour. viii

Reference List

i Florence Beagley - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage

Author Unknown: MyHeritage Year: 2019 URL: https://www.myheritage.com/names/florence_beagley

ii  National archives of Australia. Doc. NAA: B2455, BEAGLEY E A Page14. Sourced from https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3060498

iii  Australian fatalities at Gallipoli https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/gallipoli/fatalities

iv52nd Australian Infantry Battalion

Author Unknown: Awm.gov.au Year: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51492

vi 50th Australian Infantry Battalion

Author Unknown: Awm.gov.au Year: 2023 URL: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51490

vii Armistice

By Container: National WWI Museum and Memorial Year: 2023 URL: https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about- wwi/armistice#:~:text=Armistice%20on%20the%20Western%20Front,to%20ending%20World%20War%20I.

viii Hindmarsh Federated Brick, Tile & Pottery Industrial Union Roll of Honor, Hindmarsh, South Australia, Australia