Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles was the son of Mark STANTAN & Mary Elizabeth BASTABLE and was born in 1874 in Pleasant Creek, Stawell, VIC.

His parents were married in 1866 in Victoria.

His father was the son of Henry & Jane STANTAN and was born in May 1834 in Tremer, St Cleer, Cornwall, England.
His mother was the daughter of John BASTABLE & Mary MULLENS and was born in February 1832 in East Orchard, Dorset, England.

Charles was the youngest child born into this family of 4 children. His 3 siblings died in infancy and were buried in the Stawell Pleasant Creek Cemetery.

His father was previously married to Susanna BASTABLE on the 23rd of July 1862 in Chelsea, London, England.
Susanna was Charles’s mother’s older sister.

His father was a miner and they embarked from Plymouth on board the Lincolnshire on the 27th of November 1862, but sadly Susanna died on the voyage.
His father arrived in Port Melbourne on the 10th of February 1863 and settled in Ballarat.

Charles’s mother, Mary, arrived in Port Melbourne on board the Lincolnshire on the 30th of April 1866.

After the death of Charles’s sibling in Stawell, the family moved to Wyman Street, Silverton, Broken Hill, where his father gained employment in the Albert Goldfield.

When Charles completed his schooling he gained employment as an apprentice printer with Mr. W. A. WAUGH in Broken Hill.

Charles married Amelia Jane WILSON in 1900 in Broken Hill, NSW.
Amelia was the daughter of Peter WILSON & Elizabeth Ann PHILLIPS and was born on the 18th of September 1878 in Pt Pirie, SA.

They welcomed their first child; Harold Amos, in 1901 but sadly he died the following year on the 15th of July 1902 and they buried him in the Broken Hill Cemetery.
Clarice May was then born in 1903, followed by Florence Mabel in 1905.
By 1907 they had moved to Murray Bridge where Edith Irene was born, before they moved to Glanville where Hilda Evelyn was born in 1910.

Then in September 1912 Charles moved back to Broken Hill and gained employment as a trucker and was living at Block 14 Mine.
Amelia and the children remained in Adelaide where they were living with Amelia’s mother at 14 Bucknall Road, Glanville.

Charles wanted Amelia and the children to join him in Broken Hill, but she refused to leave Adelaide as she was 6 months pregnant.
Amelia then gave birth to their last child, Walter Charles, on the 11th of January 1913.

In March 1913 Charles was charged with deserting Amelia and the children and was ordered to pay maintenance or be arrested and imprisoned.

Charles remained in Broken Hill where he completed his initial medical for enlistment into the 1st AIF.

At the age of 41, Charles enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 15th of February 1915 in Keswick and allotted the service number 932 and posted to the E Company, Base Depot in Oaklands Camp.

On the 6th of April he was transferred to the newly raised 27th Battalion, D Company in Mitcham Camp.

Charles embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT Geelong on the 31st of May 1915, disembarked in Port Suez and entrained to Aerodrome Camp in Heliopolis.
He was hospitalized with Thrombosis Veins and then selected for duty at the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Gazireh, Cairo.

He then suffered from appendicitis and urethral calculus and recommended for return to Australia.

Charles embarked from Port Suez on the 24th of June 1916 on board HT Port Sydney and disembarked in Adelaide on the 23rd of July.

Charles was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 9th of August 1916 and moved to Carlisle Street, Glanville, before moving back to Broken Hill where he lived in Beryl Street by himself.

Back in South Australia, Amelia’s sister in-law; Lilly May Hedges WILSON nee SCOTT died on the 6th of October 1920 and they buried her in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section N Drive C Path 32 Site Number 369N.

Amelia and the children lived at 42 Bucknall Road, Glanville, next to her mother.

On the 27th of December 1929 their daughter Hilda died and Amelia buried her in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section N Drive C Path 32 Site Number 369N, with Lilly.

On the 5th of September 1931 Charles was admitted into the Adelaide Hospital.
Charles died in the Adelaide Hospital on the 28th of January 1932 and was buried 2 days later in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section N Drive C Path 32 Site Number 369N, with his daughter and sister in-law.

With the outbreak of WW2, their son, Walter, enlisted on the 19th of February 1943 (SX28807).

Amelia died in the Adelaide Hospital on the 25th of February 1956 and was buried in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section Y, Drive D, Path 37, Site Number 164S.

Military

At the age of 41, Charles enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 15th of February 1915 in Keswick and allotted the service number 932 and posted to the E Company, Base Depot in Oaklands Camp.
He listed his wife, c/o Mrs P Wilson, Bucknall Road, Glanville, as his next of kin.

On the 6th of April he was transferred to the newly raised 27th Battalion, D Company in Mitcham Camp.

The inconveniences and discomforts of these early days of camp life included the lack of hygienic and sanitary precautions.
Despite the dust of the first few weeks and the mud of later days, very great pride was taken in the Battalion quarters and all ranks were accommodated in the old-fashioned tents.
The necessary physical and disciplinary training was carried out with all celerity, and it was not long before the unit was sufficiently trained for embarkation.

In equipping the troops, much difficulty was experienced owing to shortage of supplies, and when, shortly before embarkation, the requisite quantities were available, the Quartermasters branch was kept busy, early and late, receiving and issuing clothing, arms, and equipment.
Many of the businessmen of Adelaide were very liberal with gifts of goods and luxuries for the troops. Besides gifts for the comfort of the men collectively and individually, many articles for the use of the Battalion generally were received. Among other presentations was a typewriter from Messrs. Colton, Palmer and Preston, and a large clock from Mr. H. Heylen (himself an old soldier). This clock traveled with the unit until July, 1916, when it was packed, with other regimental impedimenta, and sent across to England.
It was set up in each of their training camps and recorded Regimental time on Gallipoli, and later in France.

The newly-formed Cheer Up Society in Adelaide, founded to give cheer to local and visiting soldiers, made the comfort of the men in camp their particular care, and were responsible for countless acts of kindness and forethought which went far to relieve the monotony and tedium of life under canvas.

Early in the month of May, the Battalion and other allotted troops in camp were invited by the Society to a luncheon in the Jubilee Exhibition Building, Adelaide, and they marched to the city via Unley through gaily decorated streets lined with cheering and enthusiastic crowds.
A very fine display was made at the Unley City Hall.
When they arrived at the Jubilee Exhibition Building they were at once seated at bountifully supplied and decorated tables, where, to the accompaniment of fervent patriotic addresses the good things of life were freely partaken of, and the men showed their appreciation in the most striking manner.

A matter worthy of mention occurred at a farewell gathering about this time, when Lieut.-Col. Dollman, speaking on behalf of the Battalion, made some comparison between the men of the first contingent and those then preparing for embarkation.
In effect he said: “The memorable landing on Gallipoli has been made, the first casualty lists have been published, and the men of the 27th fully recognized that the task before them is a dinkum soldier’s job”.

This term stuck and the 27th Battalion became the “Dinkums”, and the expression spread first to the Brigade, then to the Division, and later to the whole Australian Army.
It was early ascertained that a great number of the men allotted to the Battalion were from the suburban City of Unley and in recognition of this fact the 27th Battalion was adopted as Unley’s Own.

The early morning of May 31st found the Battalion in the bustle of preparation for their first real move as an organized unit. The principal stores and equipment had already been taken on board, and when final inspections were over the troops were entrained from Mitcham on two special trains.

Upon arrival at the Outer Harbor, where the troopship Geelong was lying, a very great crowd of friends assembled to bid the lads Good-bye and very little time was lost in embarking the Battalion.
The Regimental band was mustered on the upper deck, and, until the transport sailed, enlivened the proceedings with a fine program of music. Amid the greatest enthusiasm from soldiers and civilians alike the Geelong slowly swung out from the wharf, while fluttering ribbons and waving flags evidenced the deep sentiment of affection which characterized the parting.

And so they sailed, Charles and the men of the 27th Battalion, bound overseas to take their part in the mighty conflict between nations, leaving behind sorrowing but brave hearts to bear the suspense of separation, and to pray for the safe return of their dear ones.
Slowly the Geelong left the wharf, the long streaming ribbons grew taut and snap, the band played farewell music, the cheering grew faint, the groups of watching figures on the wharf merged into one another, and Charles’s home-land faded from sight.

The great majority of the men were unused to sea life and found troopship conditions uncomfortable in the extreme, but with a ready will and buoyant spirit soon set themselves to overcome the monotony of the voyage. A certain amount of physical exercise was possible, and regular instructional parades were held, sports and concert committees worked hard with excellent results, and after leaving Western Australia, where other troops were embarked, everybody had settled down to the novel surroundings.

As usual with troopship sailings, their course and destination were unknown, but it was generally surmised that their destination was Egypt enroute to Gallipoli.
From Western Australia their course lay direct to Suez, and for a few days the ship was buffeted and tossed under the influence of monsoons, but as they neared the equatorial waters better conditions prevailed and life on board passed smoothly enough.

An incident which occasioned much sorrow on board was the passing away of their comrade W. A. Graham, of Hamley Bridge, who died on board and was buried at sea. He was the first of the lads to answer the roll call for the “Other World, and his death was deeply mourned.
On the night following his death, the officers assembled in the stern of the ship, and in the absence of a Protestant Chaplain, Colonel Dollman read the burial service, and his body was committed to the deep. Then in the impressive stillness of the starlit night, the silence deepened by the fact that the monotonous throbbing of the engines had ceased, his body was gently and tenderly given to the waves.
A minutes solemn silence, and then full steam ahead, and they left their soldier to his rest.

When passing Aden, at the entrance to the Red Sea, news was received by wireless of a native rising against the garrison there, and although the possibility of their landing was discussed, their services were not requisitioned. A day or two later, in the early morning, wireless calls reached them from a vessel in distress.
A dusty haze from the African shore made visibility difficult, but soon after daylight they sighted a British-Indian ship aground upon one of the many islands which abound thereabouts.
The Geelong stopped, and the stranded ship put off a boat, and some of her officers came on board. The Geelong’s captain undertook to stand by and afford what relief he could, but the arrival of a collier and almost simultaneously a wireless message from Aden that a rescue ship had been dispatched, enabled them to continue their voyage towards Suez, leaving the collier to stand guard.

Suez was sighted on the 5th of July and the next morning instructions reached them to disembark and proceed by train to Cairo. While lying at the wharf they saw the troopship Ballarat leave for Australia with the first batch of wounded men from Gallipoli.

They traveled from Suez to Heliopolis in three special trains, the last one arriving in the early hours of the morning.
Their first camp was on the outskirts of the city and was known as the Aerodrome Camp.
Here they were attached temporarily to the 5th Brigade, the other Battalions of the 7th Brigade having been isolated on account of an outbreak of measles while on the voyage.
Their accommodation was very comfortable, the sleeping quarters being airy tents, and dining and recreation huts were provided. Plenty of shower baths were available, and as an issue of tropical clothing was made, the troops very soon adapted themselves to the new conditions.

Reveille was at 4am daily and training was carried on till 8am, and after breakfast theoretical training occupied the time between 10 and noon. At 4pm training recommenced and continued until 7pm.

About a fortnight after their arrival they moved camp to Abbassia and joined the other units of the brigade. A detailed program of work was carried out, including trench digging, night marches, and attack and defense practices.
Among the duties which fell to the Battalion was that of garrisoning the Kasr-el-Nil Barracks at Cairo and supplying a town picquet and several guards. This work was very well done and gained commendation from the Imperial authorities.

Several instructional courses were held for the benefit of officers and non-commissioned officers. These, together with the hearty and enthusiastic interest shown by the rank and file in the various branches of training, soon brought the Battalion to a high state of efficiency.

After a period of two months in Egypt, instructions were received to prepare for embarkation for Gallipoli, and immediate steps were taken to completely overhaul all equipment, and make good any deficiencies.

On the 27th of July Charles was admitted into the 1st Australian General Hospital in Heliopolis suffering from Thrombosis Veins.

On the 2nd of September, possibly due to his age, Charles was selected for duty at the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Gazireh, Cairo.
The following night the 27th Battalion boarded trains for Alexandria and next morning embarked for Lemnos Island, on route for Gallipoli on the Ivernia.

On the 2nd of February Charles was admitted into the 2nd Australian General Hospital suffering from appendicitis.
He spent 8 weeks here receiving treatment before he was transferred to the 3rd Australian General in Abbassia on the 6th of April.
After another 4 weeks here Charles was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Cairo where he was diagnosed with Urethral Calculus and recommended for return to Australia.

Charles embarked from Port Suez on the 24th of June 1916 on board HT Port Sydney and disembarked in Adelaide on the 23rd of July.

Charles was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 9th of August 1916 with an initial War Pension of £1/10/1 for himself and smaller amounts for his wife and children.
This was cancelled as of the 30th of August 1917 as he was employed on Home Service.

He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.