Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alexander William Bryce was born on 7 October 1893 at Little Coogee, now known as Clovelly, in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs in the Randwick Municipality.
He lived at 37 Park St Little Coogee (Clovelly) in a house that was demolished at around 2015 for a rebuild. His family lived next door to his uncle, James ("Jim") and his uncle's family, who lived at 35 Park St. Alexander was apprenticed to his father, a painter, as was his uncle Jim. He joined the AIF on 13 September 1915 and was appointed to the 7th Field Coy Engineer. He sailed in late November 1915 for Alexandria, Egypt, where he undertook training. In March 1916, he sailed for Marseille, where is arrived on 19 March 1916. He served on the Somme in norther France and was killed at Pozieres on 29 July 1916. His parents, William and Elizabeth, wrote a number of heart felt letters to army headquarters in Melbourne, requesting his any of his personal possessions and information about where he was buried, clearly not understanding the situation in France at the time, which was that many were being buried in mass graves or not buried at all. Eventually, they did receive 1 cap comforter, 1 fly net, and 1 book, which were the contents of his kit bag. Alexander was survived by his parents, one sister, two brothers, and extended family and friends. For many years, several people remembered him in the "In Memoriam" tributes section of the Sydney Morning Herald on the anniversary of his death. Two of his cousins, Leslie and Charles Fordham also served in the great war. Leslie was killed in action at Polygon Wood, Belgium. Charles survived the war and returned to Australia, having won a military medal for bravery during the 1918 Battle of Mont St Quentin near Peronne, not far from where Alexander was killed. Alexander is remembered at Australian memorial at Villeurs-Bretonneux, France, where his name appears on the memorial. He is also remembered at Waverley cemetery in Sydney, where the grave of his parents displays a small plaque beneath the main headstone stating his name, service number, and his date of death at 29 July 1916.