08/05/2026
Pte. Alfred West, 5th Battalion Australian Infantry, was seriously wounded 6th/11th May 1915, most likely on 8th May. Evacuated to Malta, a friend helped him write to his parents from St. Andrew's Hospital on 27th May 1915.
“Since I last wrote I am getting a bit better, and hope in the next letter to be able to let you know I am thoroughly well again. The nurses and doctors in this hospital are English, and they are simply grand, and never tire in their attention to our boys, and do everything possible to make us as comfortable as they can. I had a bad turn last Tuesday night as my wound started bleeding, but I am getting better again, and hope to be able to leave the hospital soon thoroughly fit and well again. I would like to know how the football and dances are going on at Chiltern, and would like to be there having a go. It seems quite strange here at this lime of the year not to hear football talked about. I have been very lucky in having a lot of my camp mates at Broadmeadows in the same hospital, as it takes a lot of the loneliness away. When you read this letter do not be frightened that I am badly hurt because I have not written it myself. One of my mates is writing it for me as I am unable to sit down.” [1]
West, a former sleeper cutter, died of his wounds on 4th June 1915. Buried in Pembroke Military Cemetery, Malta, he was the 19 year-old son of William Henry and Sarah Ann West, of Chiltern, Victoria.
[1] 'Federal Standard' (Chiltern, Victoria), 13th August 1915.
Image: An unidentified military hospital in Malta, used for illustrative purposes only. 'The Sketch,' 21st November 1900.
