David William CARMAN

CARMAN, David William

Service Number: 2646
Enlisted: 30 August 1916, Adelaide, South Australia
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 50th Infantry Battalion
Born: Keilli, South Australia, 18 October 1898
Home Town: Port Broughton, Barunga West, South Australia
Schooling: Wards Hill Public School
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Killed in Action, Villers-Bretonneux, France, 25 April 1918, aged 19 years
Cemetery: Hangard Communal Extension Cemetery
Also commemorated on a family grave at Dudley Park Cemetery , Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension, Hangard, Picardie, France
Memorials: Adelaide National War Memorial, Adelaide The 50th Battalion Commemorative Cross, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Port Broughton War Memorial
Show Relationships

World War 1 Service

30 Aug 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2646, Adelaide, South Australia
23 Oct 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2646, 50th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1
23 Oct 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2646, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Melbourne, Adelaide
25 Apr 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2646, 50th Infantry Battalion, Villers-Bretonneux

The other brother and sister

Ruby Adelaide Carman nee Catchlove went to the Middle East as a nurse and my father Kenneth John Carman (Jack) went to Papua New Guinea and the Islands as a mechanic during the second world war. Both fortunately returned.

Showing 1 of 1 story

Biography

A farmer form Port Broughton, South Australia, prior to enlistment, David Carman embarked with the 6th Reinforcements of the 50th Battalion, from Adelaide on 23 October 1916 aboard HMAT Port Melbourne (A16) for Devonport, England.

Following training at Codford he proceeded to France and joined his battalion on the Western Front near Armentieres.

David Carman was wounded in action at Westhoek Ridge, Belgium, on 25 September 1917 and was evacuated to England for treatment and recuperation before rejoining his unit near Corbie in early April 1918.

Within a month, David Carman was killed in action in the attack on Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918 and is buried in the Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension, France. He was aged 19 years.

His older brother, 521 Lance Corporal Clement Claude Carman, 27th Battalion, was killed in action at Flers on 5 November 1916 and his oldest brother 5063 Pte Roland Clarence Carman, 10th Battalion, was killed in action near Bapaume on 8 April 1917. They were aged 21 and 23 years respectively. Both have no known grave and they are commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France.

The three brothers are commemorated on a family headstone at the Dudley Park Cemetery in Adelaide (main photo).  Their  Commemorative plaques (or Dead Man’s Pennies) awarded to the family, distinguish the memorial and mark a family's sacrifice.  It would have provided  scant solace for a loss so profound it is difficult to imagine the family recovering from the grief that must have overtaken them.  That the parents died relatively soon after this family tragedy is perhaps hardly surprising.

 

British War Medal 50526

Victory Medal  49886

Commemorative Plaque 345129

Read more...