Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles Francis Shepherd was born in Clerkenwell London, England in February 1875 to parents Frederick Augustus and Sarah Helen Shepherd (nee Nicholls) who were married in May 1874 in London. Charles was the youngest of two other sibling brothers.
 
Charles attended City of London Grammar School on a scholarship. At the completion of his schooling, he worked running errands for a short time before he joined the family home decorating business with his father and brother, painting, plastering and hanging wallpaper. It appeared the family business had plenty of work decorating and improving businesses within the area of Clerkenwell.
 
It was in February 1904 that Charles married Florence Rose Gellard a solicitor’s daughter who had moved in next door to Charles family. Florence was a dressmaker where they lived with Charles’s parents and brother in a six-room apartment after their marriage.
 
In 1908 Charles immigrated to Western Australia on board the Orion arriving in Fremantle in May of the same year. He set up residence in Cottesloe working as a painter. It was not until October 1909 that his wife Florence arrived in Fremantle aboard the Orontes. Florence arrived with their daughter Ivy Hilda. Due to the time difference when Charles arrived in Perth and his wife Florence arriving sometime later, is believed that Charles was not the father of Ivy as she was less than 12 months of age when arriving in Fremantle, however they were a family.
 
By 1912 Charles and his family had moved to another residence in Cottesloe, with Charles working as a decorator and in partnership with a Perth building contractor a William Bradburn.
 
In 1914 with war commencing, Charles attempted to enlisted into the A.I.F. however his age, 39 years at the time prevented him from enlisting as he was over the age limited. It was not until 1915 that the age limit to enlist into the A.I.F. was raised to the age of 45 years.
 
It was in July 1915 that Charles enlisted into the A.I.F. where he attended Blackboy Hill training camp conducting his basic training attached to 32nd Battalion, D Company. Two companies C and D of 32ndBattalion were formed at Blackboy Hill. It was in September 1915 that these two companies sailed from Fremantle for Adelaide South Australia to join A and B companies to form the remainder of the battalion which had been raised at Adelaide, forming part of the 8th Brigade.
 
Charles embarked from Adelaide, South Australia in November 1915 aboard HMAT Geelong A2, attached to D Company. Arriving in Egypt in December 1915 where the battalion conducted further training at Tel-el-Kebir. In June 1916 Charles with the battalion embarked for the Western Front. Arriving in France Charles was sent Morbecque near Hazebrouck in northern France.

It was in July 1916 that Charles with the battalion moved to their billets at Fleurbaix in preparation for an assault on the German trenches at Fromelles. The plan was to use Brigades from the Australian Fifth Division to conduct a diversionary assault of the German trenches at Fromelles.

The Australian 8th Brigade which 32nd Battalion was a part of along with 31st Battalion were to assault the German trenches on the left flank crossing only 100 metres of no man’s land to get the trenches. The 32ndBattalion was on the extreme left flank their job made more difficult, not only did they have to protect themselves, but advancing on the German lines they had to block off the Germans on their left, to stop them from coming around behind them whilst advancing. The assault was due to commence at 6pm on 19th July 1916.

Charles in D Company along with B Company formed the third and fourth waves of the attack. Even before the attack commenced the Australians not only suffered casualties from the German artillery but also from their own inexperienced Australian artillery who lacked the skills to provide artillery cover for the assault.

With the 32nd and 31st Battalions commencing their assault and suffering heavy casualties, against all odds the men were able to capture the German frontline trenches opposite them. Pushing onto their final objective, the support trenches they failed to find these trenches which turned out to be ditches or abandoned trenches overgrown with grass and half full of water. The failure to locate these trenches was due to the poor planning by the commanders who had selected the final objective for the 8th Brigade came down to the reading of unreliable aerial maps that were taken in the previous year of 1915 when the Germans first dug these trenches.

With the 32nd Battalion suffering heavy casualties from continued German counter attacks during the night, the German infantry which were able to penetrate the gaps in the Australian lines. The Australians maintained their positions until about 3.45am before being surrounded. It was at this time the Australians decided to withdraw from the trenches to fight their way back to their lines.
There were no witness accounts to Charles fate on the night of the assault, even if he made it across no man’s land to the German trenches. There are no official reports of Charles fate by the A.I.F. He was determined to be killed in action.

No man’s land was littered with Australian dead as evident two and half years after the battle. Australia’s official war historian Charles Bean witnessed the Fromelles battleground when he visited the at the end of hostilities on 11th November 1918.  He recorded his observations in his diary of the large amount of bones, torn uniforms and Australian kit that he had seen everywhere on the battlefield.

Florence received notification of Charles death as the 17th July 1916 by army officials. However, Florence had received from Charles a letter and postcard dated the 17th July 1916 assuring Florence, he was well. It was not until the September of 1916 that Florence presented this correspondence to the army with the army authorities changing the date of his death to the 19th July 1916, recorded as killed in action.

Charles has no known grave and is commemorated on VC Corner Australian Military Cemetery, Fromelles France. This memorial is built on no man’s land. He was 40 years of age.

Florence and Ivy later dedicated a memorial plaque for Charles which was placed in Lovekin Drive, Kings Park Perth. He is remembered with honour.