Anderson, PTE Joseph

Joseph Anderson (1881-1916), sailor and soldier, was born in Stockholm, Sweden, son of Ander and Kristine Anderson. He grew up with at least one sister, Sigrid. He moved to South Africa on his own as a young adult whilst his father remained in Sodermalm, a suburb of Stockholm. Anderson then migrated to Australia on the 18th of December 1901 at the age of 20.

Anderson spent 3 years in the Goldfields as a miner, 2 years in Fremantle and 2 years in the timber industry at Yarloop. Whilst working at Yarloop, Anderson became an Australian Citizen in 1908, 7 years after arriving in Australia. Afterwards, Anderson returned to the port city of Fremantle, working as a sailor. When he wasn’t at sea, Anderson was residing at the Duke of York Hotel.

Joseph Anderson enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on the 8th of January 1916 at the age of 34 and was posted to B Company, 44th Battalion. He embarked for overseas service in June 1916 and arrived at the front lines in November 1916. Tragically, his service with the 44th Battalion was very short lived as Private Anderson has the distinction of being the first soldier of the battalion to die in action. On the last day of 1916, during the Battle of Armentieres, the Germans began heavily shelling the battalion with mortars known as minenwerfer. One of these minenwerfer hit the B Company parapet, killing three soldiers and wounding one. Besides PTE Anderson, Barker and Cameron were also killed.

The three men were buried by the shell explosion and could not be rescued in time. They either died from the explosion outright or were buried alive in the chaos.

During the war, PTE Anderson fought in one battle and spent 36 days in the trenches. He was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal and Death Plaque.

Notes

Mother Kristine – She got widowed during the war.

Fined for gambling aboard the HMAT Suevic in June 1916.

Sources

National Archives of Australia

AIF Project