KEWLEY, Charles William
| Service Number: | 211 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 September 1914, Enlisted at Paddington |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Douglas, Isle of Man, 16 December 1878 |
| Home Town: | Surry Hills, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Locomotive Workshop Fitter |
| Died: | Pneumonia, Base Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1 September 1915, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
Coburg Pine Ridge Cemetery, Victoria, Australia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 211, 1st Field Company Engineers, Enlisted at Paddington | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement Sergeant, 211, 1st Field Company Engineers, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked Sergeant, 211, 1st Field Company Engineers, HMAT Afric, Sydney |
Help us honour Charles William Kewley's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Charles W KEWLEY (Service Number 211) was born on 16th December 1878 at Douglas on the Isle of Man. He served an apprenticeship of seven years with John Cain of Douglas in a metal trade. He was employed as a fitter at Eveleigh Locomotive Works from September 1911.
He joined the "AIF" on 5th September 1914. He enlisted at Paddington, gave his wife, Kate, as his next of kin, and claimed 12 years’ service with the Royal Engineers.
He was allotted to the No. 1 Field Company of Engineers, and with his long military experience, Kewley was promoted to Sergeant within three weeks of enlistment. He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Afric’ on 18th October 1914. He joined the Mditerranean Expeditionary Force at Alexandria (Egypt) on 3rd March 1915.
He washospitalised at Lemnos (Greek island) on 10th May.
The wound was not life threatening. He return to duty, but the wound did make walking difficult and painful. Kewley was declared medically unfit for active service and sent home.
On the journey home, aboard HMAT ‘Honorata’ Kewley developed pneumonia, exhaustion and heart failure. He was taken from the ship in Melbourne on 27th August and admitted to the Base Hospital, where he died on 1st September 1915. He was buried at the Coburg General Cemetery on 3rd September.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.