Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

1.1     Background before the war
Alfred Claudius (Claude) Joy was a labourer born on the 18th of April 1896 in Fair View, near Meningie (The Joy Reunion Committee, 2000). He was the seventh and final child of Thomas Joy, the 6th child of 13 of Nelson Alfred Joy and Mary Elizabeth Parsons, and Mary Anne Burgess, the daughter of Aaron Burgess and Martha Duffield. His father was a farmer along with many other occupations and hobbies, including fishing and masonry, which led to him being known as a ‘jack-of-all-trades’. Thomas died in 1937 from unknown causes. His mother was a pioneer woman and worked hard with Thomas in building their home. She later died in 1897 after complications from Alfred’s birth.  In his childhood, Alfred was part of the Methodist faith and had his education from home as his father had built a schoolhouse on the property. Before enlisting for the AIF, he had careers at Holdens and Richards Body Works as a motor trimmer in Keswick, South Australia.

1.2     Service in WWI
Alfred Claudius ‘Claude’ Joy enlisted for the First World War on the 20th of September 1915, a month after applying to enlist. He was placed in the 9th Light Horse Battalion, 14th reinforcements with the rank of Private, which he would keep for a majority of his service. No reason is known for his enlistment, but a Postcard sent from Egypt and mentioning the ‘boys from the Dardanelles’ can lead to speculation that a friend of Claude’s was already participating in the war and persuaded Claude to enlist. This is evident as Claude wasn’t in Egypt with the AIF until March 1916, well after the Anzacs had returned from the Dardanelles along with the fact that he received his own mail at the time and this card is now in my possession after I received it from his late grandson, Kevin Joy.

Claude embarked to Heliopolis, Egypt on the 10th of February 1916 from Adelaide, South Australia on the HMAT A69 Warilda. Once arriving in Heliopolis and before starting his European journey in France, Claude was taken on strength to multiple units including the 3rd Res. Regiment, 5th Artillery Division, 25th Howitzer Brigade posted to the 115th battery and finally the 5th divisional ammunition column where he gained the rank of driver. This took Claude throughout the British-occupied land of Egypt. During this time, Claude was admitted to a hospital on the 4th of April for an unknown reason and was released 4 days later.

Claude embarked on the SS Huntsend, previously a German passenger ship, as part of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) on the 20th of June 1916 and arrived in Marseilles ten days later to join the fight on the Western Front. Later that year in November, he suffered a bout of sickness thought to be pyrexia (fever of unknown origin (PUO). Claude was discharged on the 22nd of November and re-joined his unit in the field. On the 20th of July 1917, during an engagement with the Triple alliance forces in Contalmaison, Claude suffered an injury from shellfire, which was later classed as a gunshot wound, to the left elbow. This injury cost him two months of recovery in the 3rd Canadian General Hospital in Boulogne.

During this time, one of his sisters, Louisa Treleaven, inquired with the Red Cross in Adelaide after hearing about his injury. Having not been informed about his condition, she sent two more letters. The letters state, "I thought I would write to you… to find out any particulars about my brother who was wounded in France” (Treleaven, 1917). Claude re-joined the unit in mid-September and marched with them across France as the front moved to push entente lines forward.

On the 29th of November, Claude took 14 days leave in England for an unknown reason. On the 6th of December, he was taken on strength to the 14th Field Artillery Brigade along with 44 other men from his previous unit. In September of 1918, Claude went AWOL and received 26 days of no pay. Between this time and the end of his service, Claude remained in France, most likely to finish up some duties, before returning home to Australia on the 22nd of May 1919. He chose to leave the AIF after the war in September of 1919. Through his service, Claude received the 1914/15 star even though he didn’t serve in any theatres of war until 1916, the British War Medal for Service in Theatres of War during an undisclosed period, and the Victory Medal for Service in Theatres of War between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918.

1.3     Service in WWII
After leaving the AIF in 1919, Claude re-enlisted to help in World War 2 on July 1, 1940 for an unknown reason but it can be speculated that he re-enlisted after two of his nephews, Francis Raymond Joy and Fernley Nelson Joy enlisted, Fernley of which received a military medal for his service. When enlisting in Keswick, he was more specific on his birthplace by specifying it to be Ashville as well as updating his next of kin to his wife, Mary Monica Bartlett. He was placed in the 4th Garrison Battalion, keeping him in South Australia. He served many roles in his short service. The 4th Garrison Battalion was raised at the Keswick Barracks in 1939 and guarded multiple locations around suburban Adelaide including the Grange cable station, the Rosewater Radio Mast and various ammunition depots.

The garrisons guarded locations by being present on site and controlling the borders of the site along with the surrounding area. Claude most likely walked to the barracks during his service as he lived on 25 Ashford Road in Keswick at the time, which is a street on the opposite side of Anzac Highway to the barracks. Claude served in the 4th Garrison Battalion until the 13th of September 1940 when he was discharged for an unknown reason. It can be speculated from an interview with one of his grand-daughters, Janice Badcock (2020), that it was due to a PTSD-Related injury as she said, ‘He never spoke about the war… Makes me think his experience was one he did not want to remember.’

1.4    Life after the war
After WWI, Claude started the Black and White Taxi Depot which was located in Pirie Street before relocating to a shed in Keswick. Claude married Mary Monica Bartlett in 1922, changing his religion from Methodist to Catholic to please her strict parents. Mary Monica ‘Mae’ Bartlett was born to Richard Bartlett and Mary Collins. She was a housewife and pianist. She often accompanied her son-in-law, Richard Badcock, while he sang in concerts at family gatherings, usually held at their home in Gouger Street where the post office stands today. Mae died in 1974 from pneumonic complications after suffering a stroke that left her left-side paralysed.

Claude had two children, Verna Catherine Joy and Kevin William Joy. Verna married into the Badcock family and had five children, three of which were born while she was suffering from two brain tumours. Verna later passed in 1982. Kevin would go on to pursue the same trade as his father while also helping with his taxi business and later had a family of his own and had four sons before passing in 1983, exactly a year and two days after his sister.

Claude was an enthusiastic supporter of the West Adelaide Football Club, being known as ‘Pop Joy’ to many, along with being an athletics coach for his son Kevin and son-in-law Richard at the Norwood Oval. Later in life, Claude began to suffer from a drinking problem and became antisocial. Alfred Claudius Joy died on the 12th of December 1958 from Lung Cancer and was buried in the Soldiers Memorial Oval in the West Terrace Cemetery. Claude is today remembered by his family through his Grave at West Terrace, the Courela WWI Honour Roll, the Goolwa War Memorial and the Streaky Bay War Memorial.