Private Thomas William Alley of Belair

Tom Alley was the son of William Alfred and Thirza Alley and was born at Belair in 1897. He attended Brownhill Creek Public School and worked as a gardener. Tom served in the junior and senior cadets before the war.

He enlisted on 24 August 1915 at the age of 18, and although he sailed with the 13th reinforcements to the 16th Battalion in January 1916, he was subsequently transferred to and joined the 48rd Battalion in Egypt in early April 1916. After spending some time in the trenches guarding the Suez canal, the battalion entrained for Alexandria and sailed to Marseilles in early June. Over the next month the 48th Battalion was engaged in static trench warfare, generally spending two weeks in then two weeks out of the frontline. However, between 5 and 7 August 1916 the 48th Battalion held ground in the village of Pozieres during what has been described as the heaviest artillery barrage ever experienced by Australian troops. During those three days the 48th Battalion suffered 104 killed, 418 wounded and 76 missing. Sometime on the second day of that barrage Tom was wounded in the left leg and didn't rejoin his unit until 11 September 1916. The day Tom returned to the battalion it was in reserve, and his commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Ray Leane arranged for the picture hall in the village of Poperinghe to screen a movie for the men. Two weeks later the battalion returned to the frontline for another stint in the trenches.

After the terrible winter of 1916/17, the 48th Battalion fought its first major action of 1917 during the Battle of Bullecourt on 11 April when the battalion captured a section of the Hindenburg Line but was forced to withdraw due to the failure of the supporting tanks. In June the battalion participated in the second stage of the Battle of Messines. Later that year the 48th Battalion were involved in the abortive attack on Passchendaele on 12 October 1917 when more than half the battalion became casualties. Tom was wounded again on 20 October 1917 as the battalion moved into support trenches, but he stayed on duty.

From mid-February until early July 1918 Tom went absent without leave twice, and with a stint in hospital and some time undergoing punishment following a court martial he didn't rejoin his unit until early July 1918. In late September, after a further stint of absence, he was promoted to lance corporal and detached to the brigade signals school for training until early November 1918. Between January and May 1919 Tom went absent without leave on four separate occasions, and was court martialled once again. He finally sailed for Australia in July, arriving in Adelaide in August and was discharged in October 1919.

After the war Tom apparently lived in Torrensville for some time, and died on 30 September 1989 at the age of 93 and was buried at Centennial Park. His name was inscribed on the Roll of Honour at All Hallows Anglican Church on Coromandel Parade, Blackwood, and the Brownhill Creek Public School Roll of Honour. When she sent his photograph in to the State Library in the 1920's, his mother Jean described him as 'a dinkum Digger'. Translated into today's language (as much as that is possible), I think that means he was 'a bit of a lad'.

Photograph: Courtesy of State Records of South Australia and Miss Jean Alley of Belair

Private James Newman Brealey of Cherry Gardens

Photo: AWM P07791.001

James Newman Brealey was a son of John William and Elizabeth Lillian Brealey. Newman (as he was known) was born in Southern Cross, WA. The family lived in Cherry Gardens when Newman was primary school age as he attended the Cherry Gardens Public School. The family must have moved back to WA soon after and then moved around a fair bit, as Newman also attended the Yalgoo State School (500 km north of Perth) and the family lived in various gold mining towns along the road west from Perth towards Kalgoorlie. It appears that Newman's father and brother were gold miners at one time. Newman himself worked as a labourer or 'lumper'.

He enlisted at Black Boy Hill, WA on 13 March 1916 at the age of 19, as a reinforcement for the 16th Battalion. He joined the battalion in France in December 1916 after a couple of months of training in England. The freezing winter meant little action until April, when the battalion's first commitment after the spring thaw was the attack on the German Hindenburg defensive line near Bullecourt, France on 11 April 1917.

On the eve of his first battle, probably at the urging of his officer or sergeant, Newman wrote a brief will and testament in his pay book, leaving his possessions to his mother in case of his death. On the following day, the 16th Battalion attacked without adequate artillery support but with the support of tanks, many of which broke down. Despite this, the battalion captured its objectives, but ran out of ammunition and bombs and were eventually forced to withdraw back to their original trenches. Of the 17 officers and 700 soldiers of the 16th Battalion that attacked that day, only 3 officers and 87 soldiers returned to their start line. One of the soldiers left on the battlefield was Newman Brealey. As his body was never found, his name is inscribed on the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France, along with thousands of other Australians who have no known grave.

On 2 November 1918, nine days before the War ended, a photograph of Newman Brealey was unveiled in the schoolhouse of the Cherry Gardens Public School alongside others from Cherry Gardens that had been killed. His name is inscribed on the Cherry Gardens War Memorial. His brother, Lance Corporal Robert Harold Brealey served with the 51st Battalion and survived the War, returning to Australia in July 1919.

By 1923, the family had moved again, and were living in Manjimup, WA (360 kms south of Perth).

Lance Corporal Harold Thorp

Photo: AWM P07116.001

Harold Thorp was the son of John Henry Thorp of Blackwood. He was born at Glanville near Port Adelaide on 7 May 1885, attended Coromandel Valley Public School and worked as a labourer before the war.

He enlisted at Morphettville on 16 September 1914 at the age of 29, and joined the 16th Battalion under regimental number 1334. He joined his unit on Gallipoli in late May 1915. He was shot in the buttock on 25 August 1915, after evacuation to hospital on Malta he recovered and re-joined his unit on 30 December 1915 in Egypt. He arrived in France with his unit in early June 1916 at which time the 4th Brigade became part of the 4th Division. In early August 1916, the 16th Battalion endured a massive artillery bombardment then defeated a German counter-attack at Pozieres. Harold was promoted to Lance Corporal on 5 September 1916, and after a five week stint in hospital returned to his unit in February 1917.

On 11 April 1917, the 16th Battalion took part in the First Battle of Bullecourt, a hastily planned attack which resulted in disaster, with over 3,300 casualties and over 1,170 Australians taken prisoner. Harold Thorp, who was part of 12th Platoon, Cork Company, 16th Battalion was reported missing in action, but it was later determined that he had been killed in action on that day. As he was initially reported missing and as his body was never found, his name is on the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, along with many other Australians with no known grave.