ASHTON, Charles Gerald
| Service Number: | 5974 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 March 1916, Reserve infantry |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Australian Light Railway Operating Company |
| Born: | Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia, March 1883 |
| Home Town: | Quairading, Quairading, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith |
| Died: | Broncho Pnueumonia, 1st Australian General Hospital, Sutton Veny, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, 11 February 1919 |
| Cemetery: |
St. John the Evangelist Churchyard, Sutton Veny, Wiltshire, England |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Quairading Memorial Pool, Quairading War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5974, 11th Infantry Battalion, Reserve infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 5974, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 5974, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Fremantle | |
| 11 Feb 1919: | Involvement Corporal, 5974, 3rd Australian Light Railway Operating Company, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5974 awm_unit: 3rd Australian Light Railway Operating Company awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1919-02-11 |
Help us honour Charles Gerald Ashton's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland
Died on this date – 11th February…… Charles Gerald Ashton was born at Mudgee, New South Wales around 1881. (From Family Trees on Ancestry – he was born as Charles Gerald Haswell in 1881 to parents Frederick Haswell & Frances (Fanny) Catherine Mary Toohey.)
He married Edna Maud Trimm in 1910 in the Northam district of Western Australia. Five children were born to Charles & Edna Ashton – Edna May Ashton (1911), Judith Hilda Ashton (1912), Dorothy Francis Ashton (1913), Peter Gerald Ashton (1915; died 1915; aged 9 months) & Ronald Charles Ashton (1915).
On 6th February, 1916 Charles Gerald Ashton enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) as a 33 year old, married, Blacksmith from Quairading, Western Australia.
Private Charles Gerald Ashton, Service number 5974, embarked from Fremantle on HMAT Militades (A28) on 7th August, 1916 with the 11th Infantry Battalion, 19th Reinforcements & disembarked at Plymouth, England on 24th September, 1916.
Reinforcements were only given basic training in Australia. Training was completed in training units in England. Some of these were located in the Salisbury Plain & surrounding areas in the county of Wiltshire.
He was marched in to Perham Downs, Wiltshire, England on 25th September, 1916 & promoted to Acting Corporal without extra duty pay on 26th September, 1916.
On 4th December, 1916 Acting Corporal Charles Gerald Ashton proceeded overseas per SS Princess Victoria & joined Base Depot at Etaples, France on 5th December, 1916. He joined his Battalion in France on 26th December, 1916.
Acting Corporal Ashton was transferred from 11th Battalion to Anzac C. Light Railway on 16th March, 1917. He was promoted to 2/Corporal in the Field on 11th June, 1917 & detached to O/C L. Railway Trouville on 12th August, 1917.
He was promoted to Temporary Corporal on 8th October, 1917 & then promoted to Corporal on 20th October, 1917.
On 18th January, 1918 Corporal Ashton was on Leave in England & rejoined from Leave on 4th February, 1918.
Corporal Ashton was detached to Australian Corps School on 14th November, 1918 & rejoined his Unit on 19th November, 1918. On 26th January, 1919 Corporal Ashton was shipped out from Havre to England for demobilisation. He disembarked at Weymouth, England on 29th January, 1919 & was marched in to No. 1 Training Brigade Con. Camp, England on same day.
He was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Sutton Veny, Wiltshire on 30th January, 1919 with Bronchitis. He was reported dangerously ill on 6th February, 1919 with Broncho Pneumonia.
Corporal Charles Gerald Ashton died at 11.20 a.m. on 11th February, 1919 at the 1st Australian General Hospital, Sutton Veny of Broncho Pneumonia.
He was buried in St. John the Evangelist Churchyard at Sutton Veny, Wiltshire, England where 140 other WW1 Australian War Graves & 2 Australian Nurses are laid to rest.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/sutton-veny-a---b.html
Click images to start slideshow.