Albert Hector Edwards was born in Ballarat and was a Boilermaker by trade when he enlisted in the 5th Battalion, 11th Reinforcement on 10 July 1915 at the age of 20. His unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A71 Nestor on 11 October 1915. While in Egypt he was attached to the 46th Battalion with whom he moved to France in March 1916. On September 2nd he was wounded in action, shell shock, but was able to rejoin his battalion the following day. His service record notes that at this time he was also suffering from æexhaustion' which might explain the series of absent without leave charges that followed. In mid-1916 he was hospitalised æsick' and subsequently withdrawn to England suffering from rheumatism. It was not until October 1917 that he rejoined his battalion in France. On September 3rd 1918 he was wounded in action for a second time, gassed, and evacuated to hospital in England where he saw out the remaining weeks of the war. He returned home on the Orontes, disembarking on January 30th 1919.
Tree No 919