NIXON, Charles Ashwin
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 4th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Petersham, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 3 December 1888 |
| Home Town: | Beecroft Peninsula, Shoalhaven Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Architect |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 24 September 1918, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
Doingt Communal Cemetery Extension |
| Memorials: | Beecroft Public School WW1 Honour Roll, Beecroft War Memorial Cenotaph |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Light Trench Mortar Batteries | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 1916: | Involvement Light Trench Mortar Batteries, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Sep 1916: | Embarked Light Trench Mortar Batteries, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 24 Sep 1918: | Involvement Lieutenant, 4th Field Artillery Brigade, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 4th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-09-24 |
Federation Architect perishes before he can emerge from behind his father's shadow
This Architect is certain to have contributed to the architectural heritage of Sydney, left a precious gift behind for his family that would survive him but perished before he could rise from behind his father's shadow.
Lieutenant Charles Ashwin NIXON was born in Sydney in 1888 to William and Ada Nixon. He and his 3 brothers attended Beechroft Public School and later Newington College. His Father (William) started his own practice in Pitt Street when retrenched from the Railway Department during the banking crisis of 1893 and In 1904 they moved to Malton Rd and purchased 3 allotments (12, 11 and 7), building on #12 for the family home.
In 1910 at the age of 21 he became a partner in his father's practice. William Nixon's and his son delivered many notable projects which remain well preserved, Some of these Charles would have worked on during his 8 year tenure, and plenty of which are now heritage listed. Charles is credited with the design of lot 7 on Malton Rd owned by his mother Ada.
Charles worked for his father's practice until he joined aged 27 on 9 Mar 1916, training as an Artillery Officer and sailing to England as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Light Trench Mortar Battery 1st Reinforcements aboard "Euripides" about 7 months later. Charles' brothers George and Allen enlisted earlier in the war. George was gassed and separately awarded a Croix De Guerre at Passchendaele. Allen drove an ambulance.
After landing in England and undergoing more training; Charles was promoted to Lieutenant and was serving with 10 Battery, 4th Field Artillery Brigade in Belgium. He had fought from Passchendaele in late 1917, repelled the German Spring Offensive and fought at Mont St Quentin where the Australian Corps broke the German lines . Whilst 'standing-to' his guns Charles was struck by shrapnel. He died of wounds aged 29 on 24 Sep 1918 - less than 2 months prior to ceasefire.
Charles' 3 brothers survived the war. Charles' Beecroft sweetheart Florence Tucker never married, and his mother Ada would fear the thunder of guns in rainstorms for many years. With their diminished family, William and Ada moved next door to lot 7 that their son Charles had designed. William would continue his practice in Pitt and serve in the Hornsby Shire Council until his retirement in 1930 and death in 1931.
Thank you Charles for the small gifts you left us, and we are at a loss for the work you left unfinished. But rest easy, it is enough, your duty is done.
Lest we Forget
embarkation rolls: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1067019/bundled/RCDIG1067019.pdf
VWM profile: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/110107
Hornsby Shire Memorial: https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/319?keywords=
Roll of Honour Records: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1068886/document/5584668.PDF
Beecroft Heritage: https://bchg.org.au/2012/07/12/william-mark-nixon/
Federation Homes: https://federationhome.com/2018/09/12/architect-william-nixon/
Submitted 5 November 2023 by Christopher Rawlinson