 On 6 August 1915 , Whittle transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in order to see active service overseas during the war . Allotted as a reinforcement to the 26th Battalion as a private , he embarked from Melbourne on 27 October aboard HMAT Ulysses bound for Egypt . Appointed acting corporal soon after arrival , he was reallocated to the 12th Battalion with the rank of private on 1 March 1916 , following a period of divisional reorganisation and expansion to the Australian forces which were now stationed in Egypt . Whittle was promoted to the substantive rank of corporal two weeks later . 
