9311
MITTEN, Bert
| Service Number: | 1044 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 February 1916, at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mount Lofty South Australia, August 1886 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Horse Driver |
| Died: | Adelaide, South Australia, 18 September 1933, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1044, 43rd Infantry Battalion, at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 1044, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 1044, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1044, 10th Infantry Battalion, Menin Road, GSW left hand | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 1044, 10th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Life before the war:
Bert Mitten was born in approximately August 1886 in Mount Lofty, South Australia. Mitten had a fair complexion with blue eyes and brown hair, was 5.8 feet tall (176 cm) and was 154lbs (69 kg). Mitten was married to Elizabeth Mitten and had three children, although no further details on his family were available. Before being enlisted to World War One (WWI), Mitten was a horse driver. Mitten had not performed military service before World War I. Mitten enlisted for World War I at the age of 29 and a half years old.
Life in service:
Mitten was enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the 5th of February 1916 but did not embark for active service abroad until the 9th of June 1916. On the 9th of September 1916, he was transferred to the 10th Battalion from No. 12 Camp, Larkhill in England before he proceeded to France on the 16th of September 1916 where he officially joined the 10th Battalion.
Soon after, Mitten fell sick and was transferred to hospital from the Australian Infantry Base Depot to Rouen, France on the 5th of November 1916. It was not until the 22nd of December 1916 that Mitten was discharged from hospital and returned to the 1st Australian Division Base Depot in Etaples, France.
From the 25th of January 1917, Mitten was admitted to the Segregation Camp in Etaples, France where he stayed for one month before being “struck off strength of the 1st Australian Division Base Depot.” Mitten finally re-joined the 10th Battalion on the 23rd of April 1917. During July 1917, Mitten was charged with being absent without leave from active service. Mitten pleaded guilty to this charge and was found guilty on the 10th of August 1917. Mitten had to serve 14 days “Field Punishment No.2,” although exact details of what this punishment involved were not available.
From the 4th to the 8th of September 1917, Mitten was admitted to the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance Hospital suffering from varicose veins in his left leg. He re-joined the 10th Battalion on the 8th of September 1917 before he was wounded in action in Belgium on the 20th of September 1917. Mitten suffered a gunshot wound to one of his fingers on his left-hand rupturing capillaries on the back of his finger. He was therefore admitted to the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance Hospital on the 20th of September where he remained until he was discharged to duty on the 14th of October 1917. Mitten re-joined the 10th Battalion on the 18th of October 1917, but then once again illegally absented himself from the 10th Battalion on 22 October 1917.
Two months later, on 20 December 1917, Mitten was readmitted to hospital in Boulogne, France with an infection. He remained in hospital for a total of 36 days before he was referred to the “Australian Provost Marshal” (Australian army military police) in Havre, France. He remained there for 164 days until he was marched out to the Australian Corps Refts Camp on the 16th of July 1918. It is assumed from the records provided that Mitten was detained by the Australian Provost Marshal for having illegally absented himself from service on 22 October 1917, a second time after he had been found guilty of also doing so in July 1917.
On the 31st of July 1918, Mitten rejoined the 10th Battalion from hospital under escort and was confined to Divisional Compound. During the month of August 1918, Mitten was admitted and released from hospital on several occasions, but the reasons for it are not documented, only noting that Mitten was “sick.”
On the 19th of August 1918, Mitten marched into Etaples, France from the Australian Provost Marshal in Havre, France, where he was admitted to the 39th General Hospital. On the 29th of October 1918, Mitten was discharged from Etaples and marched into Australian Provost Marshal Havre, France, where he awaited disposal. On the 8th of November 1918 he was placed into the Australian Safe Custody Compound after which he briefly rejoined the 10th Battalion on the 17th of November 1918.
On the 29th of January 1919, Mitten was marched out from Havre, France to return to Australia. On the 10th of February 1919, Mitten left France and travelled to England where he disembarked on the 11th of February 1919. There he marched into the 3rd Training Brigade Convalescent Camp. While there, Mitten was once again charged with an offence of being absent without leave from the 12th – 15th of March 1919.
On the 7th of April 1919, Mitten embarked the ship “Trasos Montes” from England to return to Australia. While on the ship, Mitten was admitted to the ship’s hospital isolation. Mitten finally returned home to Adelaide on the 29th of September 1919 where he disembarked.
After the war:
It is unknown what Mitten did once he returned to Adelaide from the war.
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