BLANDFORD, Charles Walter
| Service Number: | 5657 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 February 1916, Bendigo, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 1876 |
| Home Town: | Huntly, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Morwell State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Eucalyptus distiller |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 12 December 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Huntly Memorial Hall Honor Roll, Huntly Private Walter Charles Blandford Memorial Certificate |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5657, 6th Infantry Battalion, Bendigo, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 5657, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ayrshire embarkation_ship_number: A33 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 5657, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ayrshire, Melbourne | |
| 3 Nov 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 59th Infantry Battalion, France | |
| 12 Dec 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 5657, 59th Infantry Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17 |
Help us honour Charles Walter Blandford's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Brothers:
Thomas Blandford 3681, 57th Btn, KIA 9 May 1917;
George Blandford 3459, 57th Btn, RTA 27 July 1917;
Ernest Henry Blandford 1438, Boer War, KIA 12 June 1901.
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
There are few families which have greater sacrifices in the Empire's cause than the Blandfords, of Huntly. Mr. and Mrs. W. Blandford had four sons. One son, Private Ernest Blandford, was killed in the Boer war, and the remaining three sons, all married men, volunteered for active service in the present great war. The eldest son, Private Walter Blandford, was killed in action in France early in the year, and Private J. Blandford fared a similar fate. The only remaining son, Private George Blandford, was severely wounded in France early in the year, and was "invalided" to England.
As the aged parents of this noble family of sons had made such great sacrifices The Huntly Shire Council some time ago decided to bring the matter under the notice of the Defence department, and an appeal was made that the only remaining son, who was severely wounded, should be permitted to return home at the earliest opportunity. Private G. Blandford returned Thursday and was met at the Bendigo station by his aged father. His home-coming, despite the sad toll the war has made on the family, was a joyous one, and the people of Huntly will, no doubt, be proud of their hero's return to the family circle, sad as the surroundings are.
Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic), 4 October 1917.
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