Gunning & District Historical Society

  Mount Gambier, Springsure,  Dalton and Gunning: Alchins & WW1 by Garry Norman Smith         A number of Alchin men have varying histories relating to World War One – The Great War.  Many more with name Allchin also have similar relationships with The Great War. But let’s limit this discussion to those with name Alchin and leave the name comparisons for another story.           Despite the first two Alchins mentioned here coming from South Australia and Queensland respectively, both have forebears dating back to County Kent in England as do my own Alchins from New South Wales, Gunning, Goulburn, Crookwell and Dalton especially.           Archie Ernest Alchin (born Allchin) was born and raised in Mount Gambier, South Australia. His forebears go back into the 16th century to Warwickshire and Kent, his grandfather, Christopher Wood Allchin became an early settler in Mount Gambier ...

Arthur Montague Alchin. From a postcard sent to his mother from France, dated April 1917 (Photo from Garry Smith's collection) The battle of Passchendaele Ridge took place in terrible weather, with torrential rain that filled shell holes to neck deep and created mud so thick it often stopped men in their tracks and clogged their weapons. Arthur Montague Alchin prior to enlistment (Photo from Garry Smith's collection) Private Arthur Montague Alchin, No. 2027, A.I.F. 35th Battalion, was among the shower of earth, mud and barbed wire that accompanied the German bombardment on 12 October 1917. Machine gun fire from pill boxes cut down soldiers as they emerged from trenches and shell holes. Many men were already suffering the effects of mustard gas. Letter from Arthur Montague Alchin to his mother Louisa Susanna Alchin. His father Albert Noah Alchin died in 1913. From Goulburn Evening Penny Post, Thursday 26 October 1916, p. 2. Arthur would have reali...

Garry Smith (left) presents Arthur's Photograph to Peter Morgan at the Australian War Memorial In 2009 I had the great honour and excitement to be able to provide a photograph of Arthur Montague Alchin to the Australian War Memorial. 2027 Private A.M. Alchin 35th Australian Infantry Battalion  Arthur’s photograph was discovered among many other family images left by my aunt Daphne Brocklehurst (nee Alchin); she had “inherited” them from her mother Doris Alchin (nee Thompson). Fortunately Daphne was quite a hoarder – she even had her first-ever pay slip from 1948! Such behaviour is a real positive for the family historian. Arthur Montague Alchin (1898-1917) was a faithful son to his parents – Albert Noah Alchin and especially his mother, Louisa Susannah Alchin (nee Borman). He sent a postcard from France to his widowed mother in 1917 with kisses inscribed by his own hand, just months before he was killed at Passchendaele, Belgium on 12 October 1917. Arthur’s uncle...

Private Arthur Montague Alchin. Photo:  AWM (public domain) The ringing of church bells marked the New Year in Gunning in 1917.   There was a sombre tone to the reporting of the War, including the view that neutral states adjacent to Germany would be overrun. By contrast, the following was reported on Thursday, 4 January 1917 in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post , page 4 : GUNNING SOLDIERS. The Editor has received the following from Codford (a training battalion near London), England, dated 7 th Nov., 1916: "We arrived in England on October 11 th , 1916, after seven weeks on the water.   We had a pleasant trip across.   We met two of the Gunning boys here at Codford – Ptes C. Meehan and Ged. McLaughlin.   They wish to be remembered to all the Gunning friends.   (Signed) A. M. Alchin, C Reynolds, F. P. Sheridan, and W. H. Sheridan." Arthur Montague Alchin's photo was taken in a studio when he was at Maitland army camp following en...