HILL, Albert Harold
| Service Numbers: | 1428, N106150 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Victoria, Australia, 1 August 1888 |
| Home Town: | Hornsby, Hornsby Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Shearer |
| Died: | Binnaway, New South Wales, Australia, 28 December 1974, aged 86 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Binnaway General Cemetery, NSW |
| Memorials: | Hornsby Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1428, 2nd Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 1428, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Mashobra, Sydney | |
| 4 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 1428, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Mashobra embarkation_ship_number: A47 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 5th Divisional Ammunition Column, Was Temp Sgt | |
| 25 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 5th Divisional Ammunition Column | |
| 1 Sep 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 5th Divisional Ammunition Column | |
| 16 Oct 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 31st Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Dec 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 31st Infantry Battalion | |
| 22 Mar 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 31st Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918 | |
| 5 May 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 31st Infantry Battalion, Remained on Duty. | |
| 29 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 31st Infantry Battalion, Mont St Quentin / Peronne, Near Villers Carbonell, GSW right chest - severe (luck ran out - Blighty) | |
| 27 Nov 1918: | Honoured Military Cross, Polygon Wood, September 1917 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He together with another officer and one man, took up a position near the enemy's wire, intending to remain there during the day to observe. When sixty of the enemy were seen advancing in two parties, realizing that an attack on our picquet line was imminent, he decided to resist the attack, and opened fire with his revolver. The enemy were at first thrown into confusion, but immediately afterwards commenced to bomb the party, all three being wounded. Despite this, they continued to fight until their ammunition and bombs had been expended, and finally succeeded in routing the enemy. On the journey back to our lines he helped to extricate another officer from some wire. His magnificent courage and determination undoubtedly broke up the enemy's attack, and cannot be too highly praised .' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 185 | |
| 4 Feb 1919: | Honoured Military Cross and bar, 10th of May, 1918. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When one of our aeroplanes crashed in the enemy lines, he called for a volunteer and stretcher and wlaked out of his trenches 600 yards under enemy fire to see if the pilot lived. He found the pilot only dazed and carried him back. By his gallant disregard of personal safety, he saved the pilot from capture.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 15 | |
| 15 Mar 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 31st Infantry Battalion, 2nd MD due to wounding. |
World War 2 Service
| Date unknown: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, N106150 |
|---|
WW1
The details provided are taken from the book "Stealth Raiders - a few daring men in 1918" written by Lucas Jordan, published in 2017, refer to pages 43 + 268. Prior to the war he was a shearer of Hornsby NSW. He enlisted 30th June 1915 aged 27 years. By the personal story attached he enlisted into the Light Horse, but it is obvious that during the war he transferred to the 31st Infantry Battalion. During the period of service, he rose through the ranks and was eventually promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. After that last promotion, he earned the Military Cross and the Bar to it (MC & Bar), therefore they would have been earned during the service with the Infantry. He survived the war, and departed the UK for home 16th Mar 1919.
Submitted 15 February 2020 by Maxwell HILL
MC and Bar to MC
Awarded Military Cross
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He together with another officer and one man, took up a position near the enemy's wire, intending to remain there during the day to observe. When sixty of the enemy were seen advancing in two parties, realizing that an attack on our picquet line was imminent, he decided to resist the attack, and opened fire with his revolver. The enemy were at first thrown into confusion, but immediately afterwards commenced to bomb the party, all three being wounded. Despite this, they continued to fight until their ammunition and bombs had been expended, and finally succeeded in routing the enemy. On the journey back to our lines he helped to extricate another officer from some wire. His magnificent courage and determination undoubtedly broke up the enemy's attack, and cannot be too highly praised .'
Awarded Bar to Military Cross
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When one of our aeroplanes crashed in the enemy lines, he called for a volunteer and stretcher and walked out of his trenches 600 yards under enemy fire to see if the pilot lived. He found the pilot only dazed, nad carried him back. By his gallant disregard of personal safety, he saved the pilot from capture.'
Submitted 22 December 2016 by Faithe Jones
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
AWM Summary of Lt Albert H Hill MC and Bar
Albert Harold Hill was a shearer from the Barcaldine district of Queensland when he enlisted in June 1915. Originally posted as private 1428, a reinforcement to 2nd Light Horse Regiment, he transferred as a gunner to the 5th Divisional Ammunition Column in Egypt in April 1916 and shortly after was promoted to sergeant before moving to France a few weeks later.
Hill was sent to officer’s school in May 1917, commissioned second lieutenant in September and taken on strength to 31st Battalion the following month. On 1 December he was promoted to lieutenant.
Early in March 1918, Hill was posted to 5th Australian Division Headquarters to take part in a Corps boxing tournament before attending a scouting and patrolling school. On 21 March after returning to his unit, Hill, along with Lieutenant George William Jennings and Lance Corporal Augustus Ferdinand Chapman, were attempting to observe the enemy trenches through a heavy mist when the enemy “put down a lighting barrage with artillery and minenwerfer”. Presently a party of approximately 60 Germans appeared almost on their position, armed with rifles with fixed bayonets and stick bombs.
Hill wounded the leading man in the shoulder, while the three emptied their revolvers and threw grenades into the party, forcing them to momentarily withdraw. Before the Australians could retire, the Germans attacked with stick bombs, wounding all three but they managed to return to their lines. Rifle and Lewis Gun fire was brought to bear on the possible location of the German’s however the lack of visibility hampered any effective fire. Hill and Jennings, only slightly wounded, remained on duty while Chapman was evacuated. Soon after Hill returned to the position where the fighting took place to gather intelligence but the Germans had retired leaving behind a large number of stick bombs.
For their actions Hill and Jennings were awarded the Military Cross, and Chapman was awarded a bar to his Military Medal received for his actions at Polygon Wood in September 1917.
On 10 May, Hill observed a British plane brought down close to the German lines and called for a volunteer to help carry a stretcher to retrieve the pilot. Hill and Private Harry Boughton then walked 500 metres across open ground under fire in broad daylight and succeeded in rescuing the pilot and bringing him back to safety. For their actions, Hill received a bar to his Military Cross and Boughton was awarded the Military Medal.
Hill’s active service ended when he suffered a severe chest wound in fighting near Villers Carbonell on 29 August and he returned to Australia on 15 May 1919. He served again during the Second World War with 8 Garrison Battalion and died on 28 December 1974, aged 86.
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