ANDREWS, Charles Alfred
| Service Number: | 5028 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 19 August 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Serre Road Cemetery No.2 Beaumont Hamel, France Serre Road Cemetery No 2, Beaumont Hamel, Picardie, France, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5028, 1st Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Makarini embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5028, 1st Infantry Battalion, SS Makarini, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Charles Alfred ANDREWS, (Service Number 5028) was born in Sydney on 20 September 1893, and he attended school in Newtown, NSW. He joined the Railway Traffic Branch of the NSWGR&T as a junior porter in the Goods Manager’s Office (Sydney) on 19 August 1909. On 10 July 1911 he was promoted to junior clerk in Sydney Goods and he stayed in this position until 17 May 1915 when he was transferred to Dubbo at the same grade. However, on 21 May 1915 he was promoted to 7th class clerk, at Dubbo and on 28 August 1915 he was released to join the AIF.
His Attestation Paper gives his date of enlistment, at Dubbo, as 27 July 1915 at the rank of Private (Service No. 5028) and he was assigned to the 16th Reinforcement to the 1st Infantry Battalion (in C Company). He nominated his father, Alfred Robert Andrews of Lakemba, as his next of kin. Charles’ available military records suggest there was some confusion when he enlisted and he was initially assigned the Service No. 4126. However, this was quickly updated and all records relating to his service activities refer to his final service number, 5028.
Charles embarked at Sydney for Egypt aboard the SS ‘Makarini’ on 1 April 1916, arriving at Suez on 2 May 1916. A week later he embarked at Alexandria, bound for the battlefields of France and arrived at the 1st Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples on 20 May 1916.
On 27 July 1916, Charles was taken on strength at the 1st Infantry Battalion and on 19 August 1916 he was killed in action. He was initially buried near Mouquest Farm. In late 1928 his body was exhumed and, identified by the identity disc still with him, reburied in Serre Road Cemetery No. 2 in Plot 27, Row B, Grave 16. Australian War Memorial records give his cemetery or memorial as being at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France. His place of association is given as Petersham, Sydney, although where this information came from is unclear as his father (who was still living in Lakemba) nominated Sydney when completing the ‘Particulars Required for the Roll of Honour of Australia for the Memorial War Museum’.
(NAA B2455-3033337)
Submitted 9 May 2023 by John Oakes