BLE SEAMAN ALBERT EDWARD SANDERS 1715 RAN.
Albert Sanders was born in Chiltern Victoria in December 1897 the third child of William and Emmaline Sanders. Albert enlisted in the RAN in June 1912 as a boy seaman in the first intake of boys on HMAS Tingira. He was advanced to Boy 1st class in March 1913 before posting to the Light Cruiser HMAS Sydney from where he deserted in March 1914. Albert was recovered (arrested) in early April and after two weeks in cells he was posted initially to HMAS Melbourne and then to the protected cruiser HMAS Encounter in June 1914. He would run again in July 1915, this time for a week incurring a punishment of six days in cells followed by another four days of extra duties. Returned to Encounter he ran a third time in September 1916, this time for six weeks resulting in further punishment.
His behaviour resulted in him not being advanced to Ordinary Seaman 2nd Class until his 18th birthday. He was then immediately advanced to Ordinary Seaman 1st Class on the same day.
After a posting to HMAS Cerberus, he was promoted to Able Seaman in May 1915, and he joined HMAS Parramatta when it sailed from Australia to the Mediterranean. He transferred to HMAS Swan in May 1918, before eventually returning to Australia in 1919. He spent the first six months of 1920 on HMAS Brisbane before returning to Cerberus and then to HMAS Australia where he was charged with being Absent Without Leave (AWL) in November 1920. He was punished again, this time losing his first Good Conduct Badge which he had only just received. After completing his punishment Albert joined HMAS Melbourne in March 1922, signing on for a second engagement of five years in December of that year. However, he deserted for a fourth and final time in January 1923.
In 1933 Albert married Annie Waddups in Sydney and he was employed as a labourer, a cleaner and later as a packer, the family residing in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
Albert Edward Sanders passed away on the 3rd of December 1965. He donated his body to medicine and his corpse was transferred to University of Queensland. His remains were ultimately cremated and his ashes are interred in the University of Queensland plot in the Mount Gravatt Cemetery and Crematorium. He and other donors are anonymously recognised on a memorial in the cemetery's Monumental Section – 2E-4-367.
