Sapper Alfred John WITHERS – Goldfields Hero

SAPPER ALFRED JOHN WITHERS

6851 –  2nd Tunnelling Company

Alfred John WITHERS

Born 27th December 1888 at Nhill, Victoria, to John Alfred Withers and Esther Olive Florence (nee Floyd), Alf Withers enlisted on 6th June 1916 at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.  A miner by trade, he gave his place of residence as 242 Trafalgar Street, Trafalgar, WA, and named his father, of Clayton, Victoria, as his Next of Kin.
A single 28 year old, Alf stood 5ft 9in tall, weighed 161lbs, had a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.  After a period when he was listed as a general reinforcement, he undertook training with the Miners Reinforcements at Seymour, Victoria, between 9th December 1916 and 11th January 1917.

He embarked at Melbourne on board RMS ‘Omrah’ 17th January for the voyage to Europe, disembarking at Devonport, England, and marching into Perham Downs 27th March.  On 14th April 1917, Alf proceeded overseas to France and into the Tunnelling Coy Reinforcements within the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion.

Alf was attached to the 2nd Aust. Tunnelling Company on 17th May and moved with the Company to the Nieuport area to work on the ambitious venture of mining in sand in the build up to the planned Operation Hush.  2nd Aust. Tunnelling Coy had been specifically selected for this task as the most able tunnelling unit on the front for this type of work.

During a strong German push against the allies on 10th July 1917, Alf, along with 41 other members of the Company, was taken prisoner of war by the Germans and was known to be interned at Limburg by 14th August.  Advice from the Red Cross of 4th September was that he had been moved to the POW camp at Dulman.  (Official accounting of the action is detailed in the ‘Official History of WW1, C.E.W. Bean, pp 960-964; Appendix No. 2 ‘The 2nd Tunnelling Company in the Affair at Nieuport’)

The 3rd and 5th Military Districts in Australia were notified that Alf was ‘Missing in Action’ on 10th July 1917, and on 29th September, further advised that he was now officially identified as a POW of the Germans.    The Red Cross passed a note to the Australian authorities on 15th July 1917 regarding 6851 Spr Alf Withers.  The note stated ‘Prisoner Well.  To Miss Irene Brown.’

A second Red Cross advice of 14th August records: Prisoner – ‘I am keeping well.  Send to my people.  To Miss Irene Brown, 43 Norfolk St, Nth Perth, WA.’   Alfs’ file records that his NOK was officially advised that he was a POW on 16th January 1918    After the Armistice, Alf returned to England on 23rd December 1918.  His NoK were advised of this event on 3rd January 1919.

Having enjoyed some leave in England, Alf departed London on 3rd March 1919 on board ‘Euripides’ for the voyage home, disembarking in Melbourne 25th April.  He was discharged on 25th May 1919, entitled to wear the British War Medal and Victory Medal

His military records were forwarded to Repatriation, Melbourne in December 1959.

© Donna Baldey   Reproduced with permission from the Tunnellers Website:- http://www.tunnellers.net/pages/indexpag.html

Tunnellers Marching through the streets of Perth

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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