CHAPMAN, Charles George
| Service Numbers: | 942, Commissioned Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 September 1914, Morphettville Showground |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Royal Engineers |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia , 19 November 1891 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | St Peters College, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Surveyor |
| Died: | Died of Wounds , Kut, Iraq, 17 April 1916, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Basra Memorial - Panel 5 and 61 |
| Memorials: | Burnside District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial - Rose Park, Adelaide National War Memorial, Burnside & District - Fallen Soldiers Memorial Trees - Rose Park, Hackney St Peter's College Fallen Honour Board, Hazelwood Park (Knightsbridge) War Memorial, Tusmore Burnside District Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 942, 10th Infantry Battalion, Morphettville Showground | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 942, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Apr 1915: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 942, 10th Infantry Battalion, Discharge then enlisted in the Royal Engineers British Army. | |
| 22 Apr 1915: | Enlisted Second Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, Unspecified British Units, Posted to the Royal School if Engineers Chatham, then assigned to the 13th (UK) Division at Gallipoli before returning to Egypt. | |
| 10 Feb 1916: | Involvement Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, Royal Engineers, DoW siege of KUT Iraq. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
From the book Fallen Saints
Charles George Chapman of Burnside was born in Adelaide and in his time at St Peters College served two years in the senior cadets, and gained an enviable reputation as an athlete. In 1908, the staff awarded him a cup in recognition of his record schoolboy performance in the state high jump championship; he cleared the bar at 5 ft 7½ inches. [i]
After leaving school, he worked in the Adelaide office of the Survey Department and for almost two years worked with the contractor who built the Adelaide Tramways. He transferred to the Irrigation Department and was involved in surveying on the Murray River for some time but after he passed the surveyor’s examination worked in the Northern Territory as a Commonwealth surveyor. There he was in charge of survey parties in around the Daly River country for two years before returning to Adelaide to enter a business partnership.
In September 1914, he enlisted at Morphettville, was posted to E Company 10th Battalion and in October sailed for Egypt aboard HMAT Ascanius. When it was later decided part of Lemnos Island was to be used by the headquarters staff, Charles was selected to be among the survey party which sailed from Egypt ahead of the main body; a day or two before the landing at Anzac, Private Chapman received word of his appointment to the Royal Engineers.
Upon being discharged from the AIF, he proceeded to the Royal Engineers School at Chatham, England and after completing his training there joined the British 13th Division as a Second Lieutenant, and spent two months in the trenches with them at Gallipoli before the evacuation.
When the13th Division returned to Egypt, it served on the Suez Canal until February then moved to Mesopotamia to join Tigris Corps for the relief of Townshend’s besieged garrison at Kut.
Lieutenant Chapman’s last letter to his family, which he wrote while on the banks of the Tigris River, was dated 14 March 1916. Twenty four year old Lieutenant Charles George Chapman, Royal Engineers died of wounds on 17 April 1916; he was mentioned in despatches and Lord Kitchener sent a special expression of his sympathy to his parents. [ii]
[i] Adelaide Chronicle, 29 April, 1916, p. 40
[ii] Australian War Memorial, Commemorative Roll Database - Chapman, Charles George, viewed 17 May 2006
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