X-Nico

30 unusual facts about First Australian Imperial Force


1923 Victorian Police strike

Over the weekend five thousand volunteer 'special constables' were sworn in to restore order, under the direction of Sir John Monash at the Melbourne Town Hall and led by AIF veterans and CMF officers.

Amiens, Queensland

The name Amiens refers to the World War One battlefield in northern France, of special importance to the Australian Imperial Force in March–April 1918.

Arthur Wesley Wheen

Shortly after turning eighteen, he decided to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force and, soon thereafter, was posted to Egypt where he served as a signaller for the 54th Battalion at a military base near the Tel-el-Kebir.

Birdwood, South Australia

The new name honoured Sir William Birdwood, the Australian Imperial Force general who led the ANZACs at Gallipoli.

Cecil Elphinstone

During World War I he was involved in several business ventures and served in the Australian Imperial Force for a few months in 1918.

Cecil McVilly

In World War I he was commissioned as second lieutenant into the Australian Imperial Force on 9 December 1915 and was posted to 'B' Company, 40th Battalion.

Colin Rankin

During World War I Rankin served briefly in 1915 with the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt before appointment to command the 11th Brigade in the newly formed 3rd Division, as temporary brigadier general from 1 May 1916.

Cyril Connell, Snr.

Connell was born in Sydney, New South Wales and in his youth he served with the Australian Imperial Force in World War I in France.

Eddie White

Edward Charles White (1884-19??) was an Australian rugby league footballer in formative years of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership and an Australian Imperial Forces officer who saw active service in the Great War.

He was enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 1st Division Engineers of the AIF.

First Australian Imperial Force

General John Monash, the senior Australian commander, was repatriated on 26 December 1919.

Frederick Hamilton March

When the First World War started, March enlisted as a private in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in September 1915, giving his occupation as chauffeur.

Fromelles

The Battle of Fromelles on 19–20 July 1916 was the first occasion on which the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) saw action on the Western Front.

George John Bell

Upon the start of World War I, Bell enlisted for the Australian Imperial Forces, and was dispatched for training in Egypt.

George McLeay

At the outbreak of World War I, he was rejected for service in the First Australian Imperial Force and did civilian war work instead.

Harold Hardwick

He later became a colonel in the Australian Imperial Force.

He joined the Australian Imperial Force in August 1917 and served in World War I with the No.2

History of Wagga Wagga

The town was the starting point of the "Kangaroo March", one of a series of snowball marches conducted in New South Wales during the war where groups of recruits would march toward Sydney and appeal to men in the towns along the route to join them and enlist in the Australian Imperial Force.

Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

At the time of her birth Outhwaite's father was a professor at Ormond College, University of Melbourne, and later moderator-general of his church for 1912-14, and when the World War I broke out, chaplain-general of the Australian military forces.

Jack Verge

He enlisted in the Australian Army Medical Corps of the Australian Imperial Forces in October 1914 as a captain and embarked from Sydney for Alexandria in December 1914.

Jack Watkins

After enlisting in the First World War, Watkins was chosen to play a series of matches for Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) against England.

Jim Gerald

Fitzgerald enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 5 May 1916 and served in Mesopotamia as a driver with the 1st Australian and New Zealand Wireless Signal Squadron.

Leonard Mann

He served in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, and with the Department of Aircraft Production in World War II.

Lewis McGee

As a sergeant in the Australian Imperial Force, McGee was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the Battle of Broodseinde—part of the Passchendaele offensive—on 4 October 1917.

Marich Buildings, Fremantle

In 1917 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, serving in the 11th Infantry Battalion during World War I.

Mick Frawley

Frawley served with the 1st Australian Imperial Force in on the Western Front during World War I.

Mount Clarence, Western Australia

Albany is associated with the Desert Mounted Corps in that the mounted troops and the rest of the first detachment of the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (later know collectively as ANZACs) left Albany in a convoy of ships in November 1914 to join World War I.

No. 69 Squadron RAF

To avoid confusion with No. 3 Squadron, RAF, it was known to the British military as "No. 69 Squadron", although this terminology was never accepted by the squadron or the Australian Imperial Force.

Ted Fahey

At the war's end in 1919 Fahey captained a New South Wales and an Australian side in matches against an AIF team.

William Amiet

He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 2 May 1916 and set sail for England in October, seeing active service in France from June 1917.


Aubrey Abbott

He joined the New South Wales Police Force and on 1914 enlisted in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, and then transferred to the Australian Imperial Force, and served in New Guinea, Gallipoli, and Sinai.

Charlie Mance

The Australian Imperial Forces took part in the advance south of the Somme, the Hindenburg Line, and Montbrehain in October 1918.

Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson

Following the success of the Australian attack at Le Hamel on 4 July, Haig entrusted Rawlinson with planning a larger attack, designed to force the Germans back from the city of Amiens, and also further to damage the German Army's weakening morale.

Joe Lamaro

He served in the Australian Imperial Force's 18th Battalion from 1916 to 1917 in the signals unit, seeing action at Ypres and the Somme.

Rupert Balfe

It was announced on 2 September 1914 that he would be a Second Lieutenant with the 6th Battalion in the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF).

V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial

The Battle of Fromelles in July 1916 is significant as the first occasion on which the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) saw action on the Western Front.