Albury Goes to War

Explore Albury’s local history through fascinating topics, timelines, stories, people, places, and events.

Albury men and women have a proud record of service in overseas conflicts beginning with the Boer War in South Africa (1899–1902), then both World Wars, through to more recent conflicts.

The Royal Australian Artillery was formed in 1899 and they embarked for South Africa at the end of the year. There were 78 Albury men who volunteered for service in South Africa. Just one of Albury’s 78 was killed in action, Gunner Bernard Gowing. He was the first Albury soldier to be killed on overseas military service. A volunteer, Gowing was critically wounded on November 29, 1900 and died the following day.

The Albury Banner of December 7, 1900 reported:

“We regret to notice in the list of casualties at Vyburg on 29th ult. the name of B Gowing … The deceased was well known in Albury, having worked here at his trade of blacksmith, and having also been a smart and active member of the Fire Brigade …”

In both World Wars there was a much larger involvement of Albury men and women. Honour rolls for both conflicts can be accessed by clicking on the links:

Albury Honour Roll World War 1

Albury Honour Roll World War 2

A major goal of our Society has been to expand the coverage of Albury newspapers on the National Library of Australia’s Trove site, aiming to digitise newspapers from the first local newspaper of 1856, the Border Post through to the Border Morning Mail of December 1954.

As of May 2025, we have achieved our goal to provide coverage from 1856 to 1954 but there are still gaps to fill. It is an expensive project – our most recent order (May 2025) with NLA paid for digitising the Border Post from Albury’s first newspaper of October 4, 1856 through to the end of 1861.

Listen here to A&DHS vice-president Greg Ryan’s radio interview with Sandra Moon of ABC Goulburn Murray on September 21, 2023. Greg explains what our digitising program is trying to achieve and the progress that we have made.

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BOOKS BY OUR MEMBERS

Albury & District Historical Society members have written accounts of Albury’s involvement in overseas conflicts. The books below are available for sale at Albury LibraryMuseum. For a complete list, including other titles dealing with the involvement of Albury service personnel, click on the link to download the Book List & Society Papers

Mud, Blood and Tears

Howard Jones honours 100 who lost their lives in conflicts overseas and are commemorated at the Albury War Memorial.

Albury at War

A past president, Doug Hunter OAM, a retired CMF Lieutenant Colonel, wrote this definitive account of Albury during WW1.

March of the Veterans

The proud story of the City of Albury RSL Sub-Branch and the extraordinary impact of war on our local community.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Follow the links below to view videos on our YouTube channel relating to Albury’s involvement in World War One, including the action of the Albury Battery and the naming of Albury’s Noreuil Park.

World War One comes to Albury

A virtual tour of buildings and locations in Albury which have significance to WW1.

The Battle of Noreuil, 1917

The story of the battle and the role of the Albury Battery in repelling the German offensive.

Message From Noreuil Mayor, 2015

A message from the Mayor of Noreuil, France, recognising the bravery of the Albury Battery.

Message From Albury's Mayor, 2015

Albury Mayor Kevin Mack on the legacy of our WW1 servicemen and Noreuil Park.

Aftermath

A film produced by Murray Arts in 2018 on the impact of WW1 on families from Albury and district.