SANDILANDS, Christopher
| Service Number: | 7027 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 April 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Bulleen, Victoria, Australia, 25 December 1874 |
| Home Town: | Cottesloe, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | Mount Barker, Western Australia, 7 June 1942, aged 67 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Kendenup Cemetery, Western Australia |
| Memorials: | Boulder Roll of Honor, Fremantle 5th Military District Headquarters Administrative and Instructional Staff Honor Board |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Apr 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 7027, 28th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jul 1917: | Involvement Sergeant, 7027, 28th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Albany embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Melbourne embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Jul 1917: | Embarked Sergeant, 7027, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Melbourne, Albany | |
| 16 Apr 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 7027, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), WiA France – multiple SW thigh and hand, invalided to England | |
| 6 Nov 1918: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 7027, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), embarked England for Fremantle on board HT Marathon | |
| 6 Feb 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 7027, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
WW1
Added to the prior comment, during his service he wrote a diary which has been donated to the Australian War Memorial, reference PRO 4311.
Submitted 31 March 2020 by Maxwell HILL
WW1
The details provided are taken from the book "Stealth Raiders - a few daring men in 1918" written by Lucas Jordan, published 2017, refer to pages 28,274 & 283. Prior to the war he was a soldier of Boulder WA. He enlisted 1st April 1917 aged 41 years. He served with the 16th Infantry Battalion, rising to the rank of Sergeant. He survived the war, departing the UK for home 6th Nov 1918.
Submitted 31 March 2020 by Maxwell HILL
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Christopher Sandilands (Service No:7027) initially served in the Militia from 1910 as Sergeant and was an Instructional Officer when he enlisted in the AIF on 1 April 1917 (family history is that he received a white feather - anonymously as usual - when he and his family were living in Cottelsoe prior to his enlistment). Sergeant Sandilands embarked with his Unit on 24 July 1917 from Albany WA for Liverpool on board HMAT A16 Port Melbourne, and was hospitalised with Mumps before leaving for service on the Western Front. On 16 May 1918 Sergeant Sandilands was WiA - multiple wounds to the thigh and hand, and evacuated to England. A diary he wrote during 1917/1918 documents action at Ypres, Amiens, and Villiers Bretonneux - where he was WiA (AWM). Sergeant Sandilands embarked from England for Fremantle on 6 November 1918 on board HT Marathon and was attached to 16th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 6 February 1919.
Born in Bulleen, Victoria in 1874, Christopher was seventh of eighteen children of Henry George Sandilands (b1837 in Meddlesex, England) and Lucy Hicks (b1847 at Bulleen, Victoria). Henry immigrated in the early 1840s with his parents and siblings, and in 1864 in Melbourne, he and Lucy married. They lived in Templestowe, Bulleen, Shepparton and Tallygaroopna where Henry was a Farmer.
Christopher moved to Boulder WA in 1906, where he met and married Phoebe (Tottie) louisa Topping Cooke (b1889 in Melbourne, Victoria). Christopher and Tottie settled in Boulder, where they raised their family and Christopher worked as a Filter Press Hand on the surface of the Great Boulder Mine and as a Teamster. Joining the Militia in 1910, Christopher was an Instructional Officer (Sergeant), and the family was living in Cottesloe, Fremantle in 1917 when Christopher enlisted in the AIF. Following his Discharge, he and Tottie returned to Boulder, where Christopher served as Secretary of the Returned Salors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA - later the RSL). In 1921 Christopher and Tottie moved their family to Kendenup via Albany, where they settled and Christopher was a Farmer and Orchardist until his death in 1942. Tottie died in 1974.
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