S7774
BENNETT, Charles Gordon
| Service Number: | 12596 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Salisbury, South Australia, 25 September 1889 |
| Home Town: | Rose Park, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | School Teacher |
| Died: | Eastwood, South Australia, 16 July 1963, aged 73 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Payneham Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide University of Adelaide WW1 Honour Roll, Birdwood Blumberg Roll of Honor, Birdwood WW1 & WW2 Soldier's Memorial, Rose Park Gartrell Memorial Methodist Church Roll of Honour, South Australian Education Department Roll of Honour, Tusmore Burnside District Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Dec 1915: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 12596, 11th Field Ambulance, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 12596, 11th Field Ambulance, HMAT Berrima, Melbourne | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 12596 | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 12596, 2nd Field Ambulance |
Help us honour Charles Gordon Bennett's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography
Son of William BENNETT and Annie Caroline nee BENNETTS
Biography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Charles Gordon Bennett was born 25, September 1889, in Salisbury, Adelaide, Australia with his mother Annie Caroline and his father William. Before enlistment, his occupation was a schoolteacher and he possessed an above par stature of 5 and a 9 1/2 feet (approx. 176cm) and an average weight of 142 pounds (64.4kg). He also had a medium complexion, hazel eyes, light brown hair and was Methodist Christian.
During the military medical examination, Charles scored a 6/6 on both eyes. Being unwed and possessing no prior previous military experience, he enlisted as an A.I.F. Private and joined the 2nd Depot Battalion in Adelaide on the 18th of December, 1915, aged 26 years old.
He embarked from Victoria on the 30th of June 1916 and then disembarked in Plymouth, England, 23 of August 1916. Once marching to a Command Depot located in Perham Downs, England, on the 1st November, 1916. After getting afflicted with Synovitis (inflammation/swelling of the synovial membrane) and Rheum (watery fluid discharged from the eyes or nose) he went to hospital for treatment and was discharged on the 12th of November 1916. He marched out to a training depot at Parkhouse on the 18th of April. He then proceeded overseas to France on 1st June 1917 and was taken on strength in the field on the 8th June 1917.
On the 22nd September 1917 Bennett was wounded in action in Belgium at the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge (Belgium, 20/9/1917 - 25/9/1917), the third British offensive of the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele. Belgium, 31/7/1917 - 10/11/1917). Passendale's unrelenting mud, flat terrain and the compromisation upon preparation and artillery resulted in approx. 495,000 casualties on all sides including 275,000 allied casualties. This horrifying battle served as a terrifying reality of war, as it scarred over 650,000 soldiers, causing a simple countryside to be synonymous with mud, blood and impotence.
When charging into enemy territory, he was wounded in action from being afflicted by a sharpnel which affected his wrist, foot and right humerus respectively. He was transported by the 6th Field Ambulance to the 9th Red Cross Hospital on the 24th of September, 1917.
Three months later on the 20th of December 1917, his condition worsened and he developed chest Empyema (collection of pus in the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs)). He embarked to England where he was admitted to the 1st Eastern General Hospital in Cambridge, England where he would be treated for his injuries on the 21st of December, 1917; they would also treat a severe fracture in his right arm. On the 14th of February, 1918, Charles was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Dartford.
Due to the severity of his injuries, he was sent back to Australia leaving England on 5th April 1918.
With 2 years and 179 days in service, including spending 1 year and 333 days of that service abroad, Charles Gordon Bennet passed away on the 16th of July, 1963 at the age of 73 years old and was buried at Payneham Cemetery, South Australia.
Click images to start slideshow.