Albert Edward Carroll (left), shortly before the 19th Battalion departed for Gallipoli. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.
Albert Edward Carroll was born in Orange in 1893, the second son of William and Elizabeth Jane Carroll. He was educated in Molong and Cobar.
Upon enlisting in Liverpool he was posted to the 19th Battalion and described as an engine driver. In civilian life he was also a fireman.
Albert went off to war on 25 June 1915, embarking from Melbourne on HMAT Ceramic A40. On 24 September 1915 he was promoted to Lance Corporal then to Corporal on 6 January 1917.
Albert was wounded in Gallipoli on 16 August 1915.
He arrived in Alexandria via the ship Mudros on 7 January 1916.
Lance Corporal Carroll left Alexandria on 18 March 1916 to join the British Expeditionary Force, disembarking in Marseilles on 25 March.1916.
Albert fought in the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May 1917. After initially being reported as missing, Albert was declared to have been killed in action on 3 May 1917. He was 23.
Albert is commemorated on the Holy Trinity Church Orange Honour Roll and the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in Picardie, France. His name also appears on the World War I Roll of Honour on the southern face of the Orange Cenotaph.
A commemorative plaque honouring Albert can be found at the Orange Cemetery, Church of England Section C, Graves 175/177.
A letter from Albert’s brother William James Carroll to the War Records Office, dated 29 September 1920, states that he, William, is Albert’s next of kin as both parents are deceased. In a letter dated 20 June 1938 to the Base Records Office, William states that he has a copy of Albert’s will.
The story of the return of Albert’s will is intriguing. His army pay book was brought to Sydney in 1938 by a crew member of Count von Lucknor’s yacht Seetoufel. In the back of the pay book was pasted his will, written in pencil. The witnesses to this will were GS Lowe and Arnold A Dent. Charles Muller, the crew member, was handed the book before he left Germany by F Danne, a German war veteran. A letter of thanks was given to Muller to deliver to Danne on his return to Germany. Soldier’s Will Comes Back
* Margot Sharpe, 2015
