Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War II (1939-1945)

Date of Enlistment

09/10/1941

Date of Discharge

16/08/1946

Place of Enlistment

Paddington NSW

Gender

Male

Other Name(s)

Known as 'Scotty'

Date of Birth

04/08/1922

Place of Birth

Sydney, NSW

Address (at enlistment)

Causeway, Kingston ACT

School(s) Attended

Telopea Park School

Occupation

Joiner

Next of Kin

Richard Alder (father), Causeway, Kingston ACT

Service Number

NX48968

Final Rank

Private

Final Unit

2/13 Australian Infantry Battalion

After enlisting in 1941 'Scotty' Alder was allocated to the 7th Armoured Regiment and arrived in the Middle East almost exactly a year later where he joined the 2/13 Battalion just after the Battle of El Alamein. The 2/13 Battalion (part of the 9th Division of the AIF) returned to Australia in February 1943 and, after undertaking jungle training, were sent to Papua New Guinea. In July 1943 they were sent to Milne Bay in Papua in preparation for a sea borne assault on the Japanese in New Guinea. In September 1943 the 2/13 Battalion (as part of the 9th Division) landed near Lae in New Guinea where they undertook operations in the jungle until the town was captured. They were then sent further up the coast to Scarlet Beach near Finschhafen where Alder was wounded in the leg on 25 September 1943. His service file is annotated that his leg was later amputated at the thigh. The Canberra Times report (of 1944) refers to Alder in hospital where he had been lying on his back for six months and was likely to for another eight months. "Now, day after day and week after week, he lies in bed with one leg supported by special apparatus." They did not mention an amputation. Alder returned to the Causeway after the war and later lived in Ainslie. He died on 22 July 1987 and is buried in the ex-services section of Gungahlin Cemetery.

WWII Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au
ACT Electoral Rolls 1916 to 1967 http://canberraheritageportal.org/default.php
The Canberra Times - 27 November 1934, 12 April 1944
NAA RecordSearch - Series B883 (Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947)