Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles Howard Walden was an Australian Imperial soldier who fought in World War 1, a conflict that significantly shaped the course of the 20th century. His bravery and courage contributed to the success of Australia and the Allied forces. Throughout his time in the Australian Imperial Force he encountered many challenges, including spending a great deal of time in hospital with serious injuries and illnesses. 

Charles was born in Clare, South Australia, on the second of September. His father’s name was Charles Edward Howard, and he had a sister named Eva Walden. Before he enlisted in the war, Charles was both a blacksmith and a farmer (Virtual War Memorial Australia, 2024). On March 26, 1915, at the age of 23, he enlisted in the AIF at the Keswick Barracks.

Just under three months later, Charles embarked to Egypt, where he trained to prepare for the Western Front. Whilst in Egypt, he was injured multiple times. Five months later, he was admitted to the First General Hospital Alexandria for Pyrexia, more commonly known as a fever. On that same day, he was admitted for Colitis and Rheumatism. Twenty-eight days later, he was transferred to the Red Cross Hospital, Montazah after contracting Dysentery. He remained in hospital for several months for different reasons, eye trouble and for an internal disease, and underwent an operation.

He returned to his unit in France in May 1916. In July Charles was wounded in battle, from a gunshot to his right knee. He was admitted to the 2nd General Hospital. At this time, the Battle of the Somme was continuing. The Battle of the Somme was one of World War 1’s bloodiest and most brutal battles. On the first day, there were over 60,000 British casualties. When the Allies joined the battle, over 23,000 ANZACs were killed or wounded, including Charles, which is approximately 4.29% of all ANZACs enlisted. This is a significant number considering the fact that it was one battle, and the size of the forces involved. The loss of life and the high number of injuries had a profound effect on the 1st and 2nd divisions which consisted of the 1st, 2nd,3rd, 4th,5th,6th,7th and 8th battalions. This had an immense psychological impact on the soldiers, given the cruel reality of what they were witness to. Overcoming these challenges would be an extremely difficult task, as they often require personal strength, and perseverance.

On the 8/10/17, Charles was reported wounded on a second occasion. During this time, the third battles of Ypres was happening. The battle resulted in an estimated 500,000 casualties on both sides. 1918 was a brutal year for Charles, as he was in hospital for a fractured skull, an ankle injury, and was later transferred to a neurological hospital, as a result of neurasthenia and serious headaches in the night. 

On March 17, 1919, Charles was discharged from Sardinia. Upon returning from the War, he met Ada (Olga) Winkler, and they married in 1920. Ada changed her last name to Walden, and a year later they welcomed a daughter, Dorothy Pearl Walden. Dorothy was born on March 30, 1921, in Clare, South Australia. In 1923, Charles and Ada had a son, Charles R. Walden (Johnny) on the 15th of June 1923. The next 57 years of their lives is undocumented, but then on May 27th, 1980, Johnny Walden passed away. Just a year later, on September 2, 1981, Charles also passed away. He spent his last years in Clare, the town where he was born, married, and raised his family in. He was buried in the Clare General Cemetery, plot 55. Four years later, Ada passed away on September 19, 1985, also in Clare. Dorothy lived until the age of 88, passing away 24 years later. (Woo, Sep 6, 2020)