MATTHEWS, Albert Edward
| Service Numbers: | 180, N53548 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 September 1914, Paddington, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 4th Divisional Signal Company |
| Born: | Leichhardt, New South Wales, 11 November 1896 |
| Home Town: | Mascot, Botany Bay, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Joiner |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Sydney, New South Wales, 9 December 1997, aged 101 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Campsie ANZAC Mall and War Memorial Clock Tower |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Paddington, New South Wales | |
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| 22 Dec 1914: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Sapper, 180, 1st Signal Company Engineers, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' |
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| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sapper, 180, 1st Signal Company Engineers, HMAT Borda, Melbourne | |
| 20 Jun 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 180, 4th Divisional Signal Company | |
| 3 Feb 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1 |
World War 2 Service
| 2 Sep 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, N53548 |
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Help us honour Albert Edward Matthews's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
Albert Edward (Ted) Matthews - The Last ANZAC
Ted Matthews was born at Leichhardt, an inner suburb of Sydney, on 11 November 1896, and was only 17 when he enlisted in the First World War. He subsequently became a signals officer to the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Division Signals.
Just after the first ANZAC landing at Gallipoli on April 25 1915, Mr Matthews was hit in the chest by a pellet of shrapnel but survived thanks to a thick pocket-book he was carrying - a present from his mother. After Gallipoli, he went on to fight on the Western Front, participating in the remarkable feat of arms achieved by Australian forces at Villers-Bretonneux.
Like so many to have witnessed the full brutality of the First World War, Ted Matthews spoke publicly of the futility of such conflicts and regarded ANZAC Day as "... not for old diggers to remember, it's for survivors to warn the young about the dangers of romanticising war."
"Landing at Gallipoli, some of them were drowned getting out the back end of the boat. They just drove the front end onto the beach; the back end was in deep water. They were in trouble with 250 rounds of ammunition; that alone was enough to sink them. We didn’t carry that; we only carried 50 rounds ‘cause we were classed as mounted troops and we had a bandolier with only 50. I got out pretty well onto sand. The infantry had webbing equipment and they carried the ammon on pouches each side. Of course, they were the fighting solider and they copped the worst casualties. The first lot fought their way on. The beach was under rifle fire the whole time. We landed in a bad place, practically no beach and hills started straight up. Some say the current took us to the wrong place. I’ve got no idea. You had to keep your heads down. - READ MORE LINK (www.mickjoffe.com)
Ted was cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium, North Ryde, after receiving a State Funeral
Click images to start slideshow.