Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alfred Harold Yeend was born in Adelaide, Australia in 1891. He lived with his mother Mrs. Louisa Yeend and his younger brother Harry Leonard Yeend. Alfred’s mother was his next of kin when he went off to war and his brother Harry also fought for Australia. Harry was in the 50th battalion while Alfred was in the 12th. Alfred, Harry and Louisa lived on Colton Avenue in Magill, South Australia.

Before Alfred went off to war he lived a simple life, working as a laborer. He was not married and had no children.  He was a part of the Church of England while his brother Harry was a Methodist.

Alfred enlisted for war at Oaklands on the 15th of December 1914; he then embarked on the HMAT Afric A19 on the 26th of May 1915. Alfred was apart of the 12th Battalion; he trained in Egypt and fought at Gallipoli and the Western Front. When fighting his rank was a private/driver, which is the lowest military rank. The rank private/driver was very common for soldiers to be in since a lot of the men signing up did not have any previous experience. The 12th Battalion was formed from men from Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia. It is made up of the third brigade in the 1st division.

After he was enlisted he trained in Egypt under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lancelot Clarke. Then he went off to fight in Gallipoli. When Australia’s withdrawal from Gallipoli took place Alfred’s battalion went back to Egypt in March of 1916, in preparation for France and the Western Front. A sniper, when fighting at the Western Front, killed the 12th battalions commander Lieutenant Colonel L. F. Clarke. Alfred’s Battalion was involved with defending the front line of the ANZACS position when fighting.

Alfred and his battalion sailed for France and the Western Front later in 1916. From then until 1918 the 12th battalion was heavily involved in the trench conflict.

On the 31st of December 1915 Alfred became dangerously ill with pneumonia. This was only a few months after he started fighting. Pneumonia is an illness, which is caused by bacteria and fungi. Since the soldiers were exposed to a lot of bacteria down in the trenches this was probable.

Alfred Harold Yeend was taken out of war into hospitals because he suffered from multiple wounds during the time he served.

Alfred Harold Yeend received 3 medals during his time at war. The 1914-15 Star, British war medal and Victory medal. The 1914-15 star was awarded to soldiers for specific theatres of war from the 5th of August 1914 to the 31st of December 1915. The British war medal was awarded to certain soldiers who fought from 1914 to 1918. The British awarded Australian soldiers the victory medal when they served for an amount of time from the 5th of August 1914 to the 11th of November 1918. 

Alfred ended up being discharged from war on the 27th of May 1919 because he was medically unfit then later died in 1965. This means he served for a total of 4 years and 169 days. Not only did Alfred return home from war but his brother Harry Leonard Yeend also returned home although in 1916.

Bibliography

• Australian War Memorial n.d., Memorial Glossary, Australian Government, accessed 13 March 2016, <https://www.awm.gov.au/glossary/term-i/>.

• The National Archives of Australia n.d., Record Search - Alfred Harold Yeend, Australian Government, accessed 9 March 2016, <http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3454667&isAv=N>.

• The AIF Project n.d., Alfred Harold Yeend, Australian Defense Force Academy, accessed 13 March 2016,<https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=334198>.
• Australian War Memorial n.d., Australian War Memorial, Australian government, accessed 5 April 2016, <http://awm.gov.au>.

• Australian War Memorial n.d., Returned & Services League of Australia SA Branch, accessed 5 April 2016, <https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au>.