Alfred Gillett

Trying to align some family trees with public records is often difficult. That was definitely the case with 1854 PTE Alfred Gillett who served in the 1st Pioneer Battalion.
Alfred didn't do me any favours by lying about his age when he enlisted. It wasn't until I found this obituary that I realised that he put his age down by eight years in order to enlist that it all came together.

The obituary tells the story of Albert's life and confirms that he enlisted at the age of 52 and not 44 as his service record states. It is through his brother Henry that I followed the family line to the current generation and I'll return the medal to them shortly.
This is another of the medals that were sent to me by the Grafton RSL. The returned medal tally is now 2246.