GILVEAR Alexander Smith

Alexander Smith GILVEAR was the third of seven sons born to Thomas & Christina (Smith) Gilvear. He arrived in Australia with his family, from Scotland, in August 1911.

Alexander Gilvear (also known as Alick) enlisted in the A.I.F. on the 15-10-1915 in Brisbane. He was age 21, and his occupation, a labourer. He named his mother, Mrs Christina Gilvear, of Glass House Mountains, as his Next of Kin, and recorded his religion as Presbyterian. He was posted to the 9th Battalion/14th Reinforcement. The unit embarked from Brisbane, Qld, on board HMAT A62 "Wandilla", on 31st January 1916. 5/3/16 Disembarked at Alexandria; 22/3/16 Garrison Camp to 1st AD Hospital at Zeitoun and Cairo; 3/4/16 Discharged to o/seas base camp Cairo then 3rd Training Battalion; 29/5/16 1st ABDB Joined ex Egypt to Etaples; 16/6/16 Proceed to join Unit Etaples; 17/6/16 Joined 9th Battalion France; 15/3/17 appointed Lance Corporal. KILLED IN ACTION 17 May 1917.

RED CROSS Site: Eye witness L/C CLB Bridges #6120 "I saw Gilvear killed on 7 May 1917 about 2 o.clock in the afternoon. I was only 10 yards from him and could see he was hit very badly in the head. After the shelling had ceased I and others of the 9th Battalion buried him on the side of the front trench facing Bullecourt.

AWM P10720.001 Studio portrait, on a memorial card, of 4496 Private (Pte)(later Lance Corporal) Alexander (Alick) Smith Gilvear, 9th Battalion. Pte Gilvear was a labourer from the Glass House Mountains, Queensland when he enlisted in October 1915, the first of his family to do so. Over the next six months four of his brothers enlisted. They were followed by his father, who left his wife with three girls and a boy, all under 16, to carry on the work of the farm. Lance Corporal Gilvear was also the first of his family to die, being Killed in Action on 7th May 1917. On 2nd June 1917 The Queenslander newspaper carried the following Roll of Honour notice:

"GILVEAR. Killed in action, in France, on May 7th, 1917, Lance-Corporal Alexander Smith Gilvear, third son of Private Thomas Gilvear & of Christina Gilvear, Glass House Mountains, age 22 years and 6 months. Much and deeply regretted. His King and Country called him / The call was not in vain / And on Queensland's Roll of Honour / You will find dear Alick's name. Until we meet in Heaven above, Alick. Inserted by his sorrowing mother, sisters, and brother." The following year his brothers 65 Corporal Kenneth Gilvear and 2428 Pte Robert were also to die; his father and two remaining brothers returned to Australia in 1919.

GILVEAR FAMILY - RECORD of SERVICE

6976 - Private Thomas Gilvear (Senior) returned to Australia 1st August 1919

4496 - Lance Corporal Alexander Smith Gilvear - was Killed in Action 7th May 1917 - Bullecourt, France

2428 - Private Robert Gilvear - was Killed in Action 28th March 1918

65 - Corporal Kenneth Gilvear - was Killed in Action 15th April 1918 - Somme, France

6560 - Private James Smith Gilvear - Returned to Australia 13th July 1919

66 - Private John Gilvear - Returned to Australia 30 June 1918

6976 - Private Thomas Gilvear (Junior) returned to Australia 1st August 1919

• Bullecourt
• Western Front

Glass House Mountains Honor Roll, Glass House Mountains RSL, Cnr Steve Irwin Way & Reed Street, Glass House Mountains

Glass House Mountains Honor Roll, Glass House Mountains Hall, Coonowrin Road, Glass House Mountains

Shire of Landsborough Roll of Honour, Caloundra RSL, West Terrace, Caloundra

Nambour (Maroochy Shire) Roll of Honor Scroll, Private Collection, Nambour (this scroll was available for sale to the public after the war)

Fairymead House WW1 Honour Roll

Australian National Memorial; Villers-Bretonneux, France

AWM Roll of Honour Panel No.56

Memorial Card & Photo (inset): AWM P10720.001
War grave photo courtesy of Australian War Graves Photographic Archive.
Our Honour List- June. Chronicle 10 Aug 1917, p7.
AIF Project
Ancestry.com.au
National Archives of Australia - record search
Honour board photo courtesy of ‘Fairymead House Collection’