HANNAM, Charles Henry Gonda
| Service Number: | 282 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Comet, Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia, 24 July 1877 |
| Home Town: | Gympie, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Ipswich Grammar School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Epilepsy, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 23 November 1923, aged 46 years |
| Cemetery: |
South Brisbane Cemetery, Queensland Plot: 6, Grave: 88. |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 282, 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar 1900: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 282, 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 463 notes 3rd QMI embarked 1 Mar 1900 aboard Duke of Portland arriving Cape Town 2 Apr 1900. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Charles Henry Gonda (Goude) Hannam appears to have served in twice in the South African (Boer) War. First service was as a Private S.N. 282 in the 3rd Queensland Mounted Infantry. His second service was as a Lieutenant S.N. AO 419 in the Bushveldt Carbineers. Note, his death registration with the Qld Births, Deaths and Marriages registry and headstone on his grave record his name as Charles Henry Goude Hannam, the same as recorded with his photo in The Queenslander newspaper dated 1 March 1900.
His second service with the Bushveldt Carbineers was significant in that it was at the same time that Breaker Morant was also serving with the Carbineers. He was interviewed by a reporter from the Sydney Morning Herald on his return to Australia on Thursday 5 June 1902 in which he gave account of his knowledge of officers Morant and Handcock who were tried and found guilty of murder for shooting unarmed Boers.
While he was serving elswhere at the time, he did not dispute the shootings occured but he disagreed with other characterisations leveled at particularly Morant as not what he knew well of the man. He particularly defended another junior officer, Witton, who he did not believe should have been included in the trial and hoped he would not face the same fate as Morant. George Witton would go on to write a book Scapegoats of the Empire: The True Story of Breaker Morant'S Bushveldt Carbineers, which the government recalled all copies of. Charles Hannam's sister had a copy of the book and kept it hidden, one of the few to remain in the public sphere.
It appears Charles Hannam did not return to Australia from South Africa with the rest of the 3rd QMI but instead transferred beforehand to take up a commission with the Bushveldt Carbineers. On the completion of his service with the Bushveldt Carbineers he returned to Australia with other Australian troops aboard the Aurania arriving in Sydney 5 June 1902 with travel arranged by train to Brisbane the following day. It is unclear what his actual date of discharge was, after which he went on to live a quiet life in Brisbane.
(sources- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 473, Bio on Australian Boer War Memorial database; various newspaper reports on service in the Bushveldt Carbineers).
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