CARLSON, Charles
| Service Number: | 148 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 41st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Laidley, Queensland, Australia, 7 December 1892 |
| Home Town: | Laidley, Lockyer Valley, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Moonford, Queensland, Australia, 3 January 1950, aged 57 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Polson Cemetery, Qld |
| Memorials: | Laidley Memorial Park Gates |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 148, 41st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 148, 41st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 18 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 148, 41st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Sydney | |
| 2 Jul 1917: | Promoted Corporal, 41st Infantry Battalion | |
| 8 Aug 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 41st Infantry Battalion | |
| 6 Sep 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 41st Infantry Battalion | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Honoured Distinguished Conduct Medal, Hamel, France - for gallantry and devotion to duty | |
| 12 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 148, 41st Infantry Battalion, France: GSW arm | |
| 10 May 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 148, 41st Infantry Battalion, per HT Wahehe to Sydney | |
| 5 Sep 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 148, 41st Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Charles Carlson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Sergeant Charles Carlson (Service No:148) enlisted in the AIF on 10 January 1916 and as a Private was attached to 41st Infantry Battalion when he embarked from Sydney on board HMAT Demosthenes A64 on 13 May 1916. In France with the 41st Battalion, he progressed through the ranks to Sergeant, and participated in marathon running competitions - winning a one mile race. Sergeant Carlson was recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal 'On 8th August 1918, during operations East of Hamel, Sergeant Carlson was a Platoon Sergeant. On his Platoon Commander becoming a casualty, he immediately took charge and handled the Platoon with much skill and initiative. During the advance, his Platoon was temporarily held up by an enemy machine gun, Carlson immediately rushed the gun, killed two and captured the remainder of the crew of the gun, in addition he captured a further 30 prisoners from a dugout which the gun was covering. Throughout the operation he displayed great bravery and set an excellent example to the men of his Platoon' (AWM). On 12 August 1918 Sergeant Carlson was WiA - GSW to his arm and evacuated to London. He embarked for Sydney on 10 May 1918 on board HT Wahehe and was Discharged on 5 September 1919.
Born in 1892 in Laidley on the Darling Downs in QLD, Charles was the sixth of seven children of Johan Carlson (b1858 in Stockholm, Sweden) and Agnes Ellen Newman (b1865 in Wiltshire, England). Johan (a Farmer) and Agnes married in 1882 in Ipswich, QLD and settled at Laidley where they raised their family until the early 1890s when they moved to Mackay, QLD. Following Johan's death in 1896 Agnes remarried.
Charles worked as a Carpenter in Laidley QLD before enlisting in WWI, and in 1919 married Elsie Margaret Munt (b1895 in Laidley, QLD). Charles and Elsie lived in Brisbane for twelve months where Charles worked as a Contractor with his two brothers, before settling at Dallarnil in Biggenden QLD in 1921. Charles was a Cane and Dairy Farmer, and in 1939 spent a brief time as Manager of the Biggenden Saw Mill before returning to Farming.
In 1942 Charles enlisted in the ACMF and was a Lieutenant (Service No:Q209117) attached to E Coy 11 Battalion VDC. He was leading a training exercise on 11 April 1943, using gelignite explosions to acclimatise the troops to 'the noise of war' (AWM) when a faulty plug exploded in his hand - resulting in amputation of his right hand above the wrist.
Charles continued working on his Sugar Cane and Dairy Farm until illness required he and Elsie retire to Moonford at Eidsvold, QLD where Charles died in 1950. In his Obituary (Trove) 'His cheery, happy personality gained him friends wherever he went. His integrity, high moral and physical courage and kindness set an example of the highest kind'.
Click images to start slideshow.