Allan Henry Ellis Courtney

Allan was born on the 20th of August, 1891, at Mitta Mitta, near Eskdale, Victoria. He was the eldest of eight children to John Henry and Mary (née Ellis) Courtney. The family farmed near Eskdale until 1918, when they purchased a confectionary shop in Tallangatta. During Allan’s early years he attended the Eskdale State School.

The 1914 and 1915 Australian Electoral Rolls for the division of Indi have Allan listed as a miner working in the Mitta Mitta area. By the time Allan enlisted at Melbourne on the 21st of February, 1916, he had moved to Marysville and working as a farmer.

Upon enlisting his was allocated the Regimental Number 1944 and posted to A Company of the 37th Battalion. On the 31st of May he was transferred to No. 4 Depot Battalion. The following day he was posted to the 37th Battalion however, by the following day he had neglected to arrive at his new posting. A proceeding was held ont eh 2nd of June, 1916 at Seymour to inquire into his absence. The Court declared that Private Allan Henry Ellis Courtney (1944) had deserted the A.I.F. on the 15th of May and was in possession of kit valued at ￡3/8/5 and was therefore declared a deserter.

It was clear that Allan had gone back to Eskdale during postings. He sent a telegram to Seymour Camp stating that he was ill and a Nurse Bond of Eskdale sent a letter also outlining his conditions. His Corporal. J.B.J.Hehill also stated that he believed Allan was generally sick. Unfortunately, the telegram and Nurse Bond’s letter had been mislaid and was unable to be placed before the Court. 

The date of Allan’s return to camp was not recorded, hoever, he received his next posting on the 2nd of October when he was placed into the 12th Reinforcements for the 13th Light Horse Regiment. He embarked from Melbourne on HMAT A30 Borda on the 20th of that month, disembarking at Plymouth, England on the 9th of January, 1917. The following day he marched into the 13th Light Horse at Candahar Barracks in Tidworth, Wiltshire. 

On the 18th of July he was admitted to Delhi Hospital at Tidworth with appendicitis. After a short stay in hospital he back in training. In early Septmeber he was medically classified as B1 A4, fit for overseas training. On the 14th of November, while still in England he was again transferred, this time to Artillery Details, where he was remustered as a gunner. 

It was not until the 16th of January, 1918, when he was sent to France. He marched in to the Australian General Base Depot at Rouelles the following day. One week later Allan was taken on strength with the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade and posted to 5th Artillery Battery of the 1st Division Artillery in Belgium. On the 1st of February he was promoted to the rank of Driver. 

The guns went silent at 1100 hours of the 11th of November. The war had come to an end. Eleven days later Allan was given 14 days leave to the UK. While on leave in Scotland on the 25th of November, he was admitted to the Inverness Military Hospital, although the cause of his illness had not yet been determined. Five days later he was listed as being seriously ill with pneumonia. At 1000 hours on the 6th of Decemeber, Allan Henry Ellis Courtney passed away.

A letter dated 15th March 1919 and address to Allan’s father, John, provided details of Allan’s funeral.

“The late soldier was accorded a full military funeral, Band, Pallbearers and Bugler being in attendance, supplied by the Cameron Highlanders Depot. The coffin, which was good one [sic] with brass mounts, was draped with the “Union Jack”, and surmounted by beautiful flowers sent from the hospital. The burial service was conducted by Chaplain the Rev. J. Neave, and the “Last Post” was sounded at the graveside. The grave will be turfed and an oak cross erected by the A.I.F. London. Administrative Headquarters A.I.F. London were represented at the funeral.”

Allan was buried in the Inverness (Tomnahurich) Cemetery, Scotland. He is also remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, the Mitta Valley War Memorial, the Eskdale & District Honour Roll, and the Towong Shire Boer War and WW1  Roll of Honour. For his service during the First World War, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Allan’s family would place an “In Memoriam” notice in the Argus newspaper for the next six years