We remember: Alex Henry

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A century on from the end of World War I we acknowledge their service …
Lest we forget.

Corporal Alexander St Leger Henry
Born: 28 September 1892 Traralgon. Died: 19 Jan 1966 Kyabram.
Enlisted: 31 August 1915 aged 23.
Served: Egypt and Western Front.

Known to his family and friends as Alex or Jim, Alexander was the son of John and Levina Ellen Henry – one of the pioneering families of the district, with Alex’s grandparents having settled in the 1840s on a property called “The Meadows” on Cardinia Creek between Pakenham and Berwick. Alex’s father later settled in the Warragul district, where he was a prominent resident. He returned to Pakenham in the early 1890s, when he leased the famous IYU estate, one of the district’s original pastoral runs.

Alex eventually followed in his father’s footsteps as a farmer and grazier and was nearly 24 years old when he enlisted for the AIF on 31 August 1915. Interestingly, he was six feet tall, which made him relatively tall for those enlisting at the time.

Alex proceeded to France in March 1916 with Anzac units reinforcing the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. There, he was appointed to the rank of acting Bombardier. Later, in 1917 he was sent for training with the 21st Anzac Trench Mortar School. Naturally, Alex’s parents were concerned for his safety and well-being at the Front. In May 1916, Levina Henry wrote to the Minister of Defence seeking confirmation that Alex was alright. Her fears were realised in August 1917, when Alex was wounded by shrapnel from a high explosive shell in Belgium on 8 August 1917 and invalided to England.

There, a piece of the metal shell was extracted from his foot which for a while left Alex with tenderness and pain when walking.

In December 1917, Alex reverted to the rank of gunner at his own request. He rejoined his unit in January 1918. Before doing so, he managed to catch up again with Clair Whiteside, this time in London where they did some sightseeing, including visiting Westminster. Later, Alex and Clair met again in France, where they exchanged news about the death of a mutual friend, Mervyn Lecky of Officer. At some point, Alex was gassed at the Front. Shortly after the Armistice in November 1918, he was given leave in England, rejoining his unit in France just before Christmas 1918.

After arriving back in Melbourne in early July 1919, Alex received a “hearty welcome” when he arrived home with the Pakenham Gazette reporting: “His many friends will be pleased to know that he is looking well – in fact he says he never felt better”. Together with around 20 other returned soldiers, he was officially welcomed home to Pakenham in early October 1919 at a social evening attended by between 400 and 500 people.

After returning to Pakenham, Alex worked as a grocer. In 1923, he married Minnie Bunt of Beaconsfield Upper. Alex and Minnie later moved to the NSW Riverina, where they joined his brother Evan grazing on a property in the Moira District. There, he was active in community affairs.

In April 1942, Alex enlisted for service again at Echuca Victoria. He subsequently served as a Lieutenant with the 21st Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (23). Alex later moved to another property at Busby Park, Kyabram in northern Victoria. There, he also became actively involved in community affairs, including the Kyabram Agricultural Society, the Kyabram Golf Club, and the local Presbyterian Church, of which he was an elder.

This is an extract from Patrick Ferry’s book A Century After The Guns Fell Silent – Remembering the Pakenham District’s WWI Diggers 1914-18.
For more details on this and other profiles in the book, head to the website www.pakenhamww1.com