74982
DIGHTON, Charles Lealand George
| Service Number: | 2065 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 February 1916, at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port Augusta, South Australia, March 1897 |
| Home Town: | Port Augusta West, Port Augusta, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith |
| Died: | 1969, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Maitland War Memorial, Port Augusta Christ Church Memorial Altar, Port Augusta RSL Hall Circular Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Feb 1916: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 2065, at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2065, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2065, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Corporal, 2065, 43rd Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Charles Lealand George Dighton's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Aloysius College
Charles Lealand George Dighton was born in 1897, in Port Augusta SA. He was raised by his mother Mrs Ester Ann Dighton in Port Augusta West with his 4 siblings. Growing up Dighton was a part of the Church of England. Dighton had grey eyes and brown hair, with a “fresh” complexion, meaning he was pale. When he enlisted, he was 5 feet and 3 ¼ inches, and weighed 123 lbs, which is very short and skinny for a 19-year-old male nowadays. Although he was skinny, he would have been quite strong to be a blacksmith as they require a lot of upper body strength. A blacksmith’s job is to create objects from metal, usually using iron or steel, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend and cut it. Back in the 1900s, travelling required a lot of horses, that had to wear shoes, meaning it would be up to a blacksmith, like Dighton, to create shoes for the horses to wear.
Dighton enlisted when he was 18 years and 11 months old, on 21 February, 1916, in Adelaide. Dighton had previously been an 82 senior cadet for one year. In 1910 the universal training scheme was introduced. This meant all medically fit males from the ages 14-18 had to serve in cadets. The cadets were divided in two groups, the senior cadets and school cadets. Dighton was older than 16 meaning he had to train as a senior cadet, that was attached to the Militia Units, now known as Army Reserve Units. Dighton joined the 43rd battalion. His service number was 2065. Dighton was a private soldier, which is the lowest rank. A private soldier doesn’t have any men under their command, unlike a General for example, that have approximately 300,000 men under their command.
The 43rd Battalion was South Australia’s contribution to the 11th Brigade along with the 41st, 42nd and 43rd Battalions. The 43rd Battalion arrived at the Western Front in late December 1916. Dighton attended a course at S.C sig school in Weymouth from 08.03.17 to 21.04.17 and qualified as 2nd class instructor. In June 1917, Dighton fought in the battle of Messines. The battle of Messines occurred from the 7-14 of June, and was conducted by the British Second Army and was located at the Western Front. The aim of the attack was to capture the German defences on the ridge. During the battle, 19 mines were set off just before the attack, which was done to throw of the German defences. The battle incurred almost 24,000 British casualties, whilst the German incurred around 25,000. This battle became much larger, known as the Third Battle of Ypres, which Dighton fought in, in October 1917.
On the 27.06.17 Dighton was promoted to group instructional staff. On the 19.06.18 Dighton marched out of England. Almost a month later on the 13.05.19, Dighton detached to go back to Sig School. He then re-joined the 43rd battalion in France on the 24.08.19. On the 05.04.19 Dighton took leave in France for 2 weeks before returning to the 43rd battalion. That same month, Dighton Marched out to base – B.T.A.
Dighton returned from war on the 4th of July, 1919.
In 1926 at age 28, Dighton married his wife Doris Annie Dighton. 43 years later in 1969, Dighton past away at the age of 72.