Albert Chalmers Borella

One soldier. Two wars. A lifetime of courage. Albert Chalmers Borella served Australia in both world wars and earned the Victoria Cross for an extraordinary act of gallantry on the Western Front. From Gallipoli and the trenches of France to garrison service during the Second World War, his military service was marked by courage, leadership and a sustained sense of duty.

Albert Chalmers Borella was born on 7 August 1881 at Borung, Victoria, Australia, the son of farmer Louis Borella and Annie Chalmers. Educated at Borung and Wychitella state schools, he later worked as a farmer and served for eighteen months with the Victorian Rangers. In 1910 he joined the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board in Melbourne, leaving in 1913 to take up a pastoral lease on the Daly River in the Northern Territory. Financial difficulties eventually forced him to abandon the property, and in March 1915 he volunteered for military service.

Borella enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 15 March 1915 and was posted to the 26th Battalion. After training in Egypt, the battalion landed at Gallipoli in September 1915, where Borella served until illness led to his evacuation in November. He rejoined the battalion in February 1916 and proceeded with it to the Western Front. On 29 July 1916, he was wounded during the fighting at Pozières Heights and spent several months recovering before returning to duty.

Promoted to sergeant in January 1917, Borella distinguished himself during the fighting at Malt Trench, north of Warlencourt, in March. His conduct there earned him the Military Medal, the recommendation recording his conspicuous bravery, coolness and devotion to duty during the attack and subsequent consolidation of the captured position. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 7 April 1917, later promoted lieutenant, and was also Mentioned in Despatches for his service. The surviving official and service records support one verified Mention in Despatches, promulgated in the London Gazette on 1 June 1917.

Borella's most celebrated action came on 17 July 1918 near Villers-Bretonneux, France, while serving as a lieutenant with the 26th Battalion. Leading his platoon in the first wave of an attack, he saw an enemy machine gun firing through the Australian barrage. Borella ran ahead of his men, entered the barrage, shot two of the machine gunners with his revolver and captured the gun. He then led his remaining party, reduced to ten men with two Lewis guns, against a strongly held trench. The defenders were killed or captured, two large dugouts were bombed, and thirty prisoners were taken. When the Germans counter-attacked twice, Borella's leadership helped his men hold their position despite being heavily outnumbered.

For his most conspicuous bravery and initiative, Borella was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British and Commonwealth decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy. His award was announced in the London Gazette on 16 September 1918. He had already earned the Military Medal and a Mention in Despatches, giving him a notable record of recognised gallantry and distinguished service during the First World War.

His First World War medal entitlement included the Victoria Cross, Military Medal, 1914–15 Star, British War Medal 1914–1920 and Victory Medal 1914–1919. His single verified Mention in Despatches was represented by one bronze oak-leaf emblem on the Victory Medal ribbon. There is no verified basis for displaying two MID emblems. Borella later received the King George VI Coronation Medal 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953. His complete official group also included the War Medal 1939–1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939–1945 for his Second World War service.

Following the First World War, Borella settled on a soldier-settlement farm near Hamilton, Victoria. When war returned in 1939, he again entered military service, this time with the Australian Military Forces. He initially served with the 12th Australian Garrison Battalion and subsequently held a number of garrison and training appointments. He later served with prisoner-of-war guard formations and was posted to the 51st Australian Garrison Company, including service at Myrtleford. Promoted to captain during the war, he remained in service until being placed on the retirement list in May 1945. The 51st Garrison Company therefore belongs to Borella's Second World War career, not his First World War service.

After leaving the Army, Borella settled in Albury, New South Wales, and worked for the Commonwealth Department of Supply and Shipping as an inspector of dangerous cargoes. He remained connected with the ex-service community and continued to be publicly associated with Australia's Victoria Cross tradition.

Albert Chalmers Borella died at Albury on 7 February 1968, aged 86, and was buried with full military honours. His record encompassed Gallipoli, Pozières, the Western Front, the Victoria Cross action near Villers-Bretonneux, and renewed military service during the Second World War. His surviving honours and service records preserve the story of a soldier whose courage was recognised not only by the Victoria Cross, but also by the Military Medal and a Mention in Despatches.