People profiles
Lieutenant Alfred Edward Gaby VC
P09394.002
Date of birth: 25 January 1892
Place of birth: Springfield, near Ringarooma, TAS
Date of death: 11 August 1918
Place of death: Lihons, France
When he was a boy in Tasmania, Alfred Gaby had seen his brothers go to the Boer War. He later served in the local militia before joining the AIF at the beginning of 1916. He was commissioned the following year.
The large-scale action east of Villers-Bretonneux, in which he won his Victoria Cross was one of the most successful that Australians were ever engaged in. During the advance, on 8 August 1918, in a lone attack, he got through the barbed-wire and drove the enemy off, capturing four machine-guns and 50 men. He then led the company on to its objective. Three days later, while walking along the line to encourage his men, he was killed by a sniper.
