WEST, Charles George
| Service Number: | 5431 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lake Rowan, Victoria, Australia, 6 April 1892 |
| Home Town: | Rowsley, Moorabool, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Colbinabbin, Victoria, Australia, 16 September 1964, aged 72 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Colbinabbin Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5431, 22nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 5431, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 5431, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne | |
| 5 Sep 1918: | Honoured Military Medal | |
| 10 Sep 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lance Sergeant, 5431, 22nd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Charles George West (Service No:5431) enlisted in the AIF on 26 January 1916 and was attached to 22nd Infantry Battalion when he embarked from Melbourne for Plymouth on board HMAT Themistocles A32 on 28 July 1916. Private West embarked from England for France in November on board the SS Victoria and was appointed Lance Corporal on 20 October 1917. He was a Corporal with 22nd Infantry Battalion when he was recommended for the Military Medal on 5 September 1918 - 'At Blackwood near Herbecourt east of Villers Bretonneux on 29th August 1918, this NCO led a bombing party along an occupied trench in spite of strong resistance, succeeded in clearing the trench and establishing a post. Shortly afterwards the trench was determinedly counter-attacked by superior enemy forces. Corporal West's men were all of a new draft and had not been in the trenches before, but he rallied the men and going forward into a dangerous and exposed position bombed the enemy himself. He remained throwing bombs which were handed to him by the remainder of the party to such an effect that the attack was completely repelled. His personal disregard of danger and initiative materially assisted the Operation' (London Gazette 17 June 1919; Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 10 October 1919). On 7 September 1918 he was promoted to Lance Sergeant 'for gallantry in action' (National Archives Australia) and on 12 June 1919 embarked from England for Australia on board HT Port Darwin. Lance Sergeant West was Discharged on 10 September 1919. Siblings William and Norman also served in WWI.
Born in 1892 at Lake Rowan in Victoria, Charles was the sixth of eight children of William West Snr (b1850 in Northamptonshire, England) and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Sims (b1851 in Lancashire, England). William had emigrated with his parents and siblings in 1852, arriving in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria on board the Marlborough, and was a Farmer at Lake Bolac, Victoria in 1880 when he and Lizzie married. They lived in Lake Rowan and Mernda, Victoria where they raised their family and William was a Farmer.
Charles returned to Victoria following WWI and was a Farmer at Colbinabbin in 1926 when he married Heather Doreen Crook (b1901 at St Arnaud, Victoria). Heather was a Nursing Sister at the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg and the couple married in Melbourne, Victoria. Charles and Heather settled in Colbinabbin, Victoria and Charles applied for additional farming land in 1926 (The Discharged Soldiers Settlement Acts). He served with the ACMF (Lance Sergeant; Service No:V84724) in WWII. Charles died in 1964 and Heather in 1978.
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