4/1261 - Sapper

Alexander

ALISON

1st Reinforcements

Timeline


1915

1915

13 November

Enlistment

Auckland Military District

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

7 March

Stationed at Falmouth

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

23 March

Marched in to NZ Depot, Hornchurch

1916

30 April

Embarked for France

1916

3 May

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1916

14 June

Joined the Company

1916

26 July

Forfeited 2 days pay for absence from parade

1916

11 October

Awarded 7 days Field Punishment No.1 for refusing to obey a command

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1916

19 November

Forfeited 7 days pay for using obscene language to his superior officer

1917

1917

5 February

Awarded 14 days Field Punishment No.1 for drunkenness and disgracing the Company in public

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

19 July

Awarded 28 days Field Punishment No.1 for absence from parade

1917

20 December

Awarded 16 days Field Punishment No.1 for drunkenness

1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

21 April

Forfeited 2 days pay for absence from bath parade

1918

16 June

Granted leave to United Kingdom

1918

24 June

Admitted to hospital with influenza

1918

3 July

Detached to Assistant Provost Marshal, London

1918

13 July

Rejoined the Company

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

2 September

Admitted to hospital

1918

6 September

Embarked for England

Admitted to hospital

1918

24 September

Marched in to NZ Depot, Hornchurch

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities


From the Front

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

Over the Sambre River, Maubeuge

1918

2 December

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1918

19 December

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Oxfordshire

1919

1919

2 March

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5520 10/0007493, Military Personnel File: Alexander ALISON - 4/1261.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: Alexander ALISON.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 8.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “Alexander ALISON (4/1261)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 28 March 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=6