Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War I (1914-1918)

Date of Enlistment

04/04/1916

Date of Discharge

16/01/1920

Place of Enlistment

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

29/08/1896

Place of Birth

Adelaide, South Australia

Address (at enlistment)

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Occupation

Soldier

Next of Kin

Alfred J. Chambers (father), Unley, South Australia

Final Rank

Captain

Final Unit

8 Field Artillery Brigade AIF

Chambers entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in March 1914 and graduated in April 1916. He was appointed as a Lieutenant with the 10th Machine Gun Company (part of the 3rd Infantry Division) and arrived in France in November 1916. From February 1917 he commanded D Company in the 3rd Division Machine Gun Company and was promoted to Captain with the 23rd Machine Gun Company in December 1917. During the previous two months the 3rd Division fought in the Passchendaele campaign in Belgium. In May 1918 Chambers was wounded during fighting in the Somme but he rejoined his unit in August 1918 as the AIF pushed towards Peronne. Shortly before the armistice was signed Chambers transferred to the 29th Battery of the 8th Field Artillery Brigade. After returning to Australia he married Dorothy Martin in Adelaide in 1920. He served in World War 2 in army headquarters and died on 15 September 1971 at Canterbury, Victoria.

The AWM image shows Chambers (at left) with other Duntroon graduates (AW Wardell, F Coldwell-Smith, W Crellin and F Corney) at the French monument to the 1870 Battle of Weissemburg.

Colonel J.E. Lee, 'Duntroon: The Royal Military College of Australia 1911-1946', 1952
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)
AWM Collections Record: C05028