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Foster Charles BYRNE was born in Harden, New South Wales on 4th November 1893, one of five children born to parents Annie Elizabeth Ray (nee ROBERTS) and Charles Hector BYRNE.

A single, 22-year-old baker still living in Harden at the time, Foster enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Cootamundra NSW on 4th November 1915.  Assigned the rank of Private, regimental number 1994, he completed his recruit training at Liverpool, and was subsequently posted as a Trooper with the 14th reinforcements for the 7th Light Horse Regiment on 12th January 1916.  Foster embarked in Sydney aboard HMAT Malakuta on 16th March for active service overseas.

Having arrived in Egypt, Foster was taken on strength with the 2nd Light Horse Training Regiment in Tel-el-Kebir on 23rd April 1916.  This newly raised Unit was responsible for training Light Horse reinforcements for the 2nd Light Horse Brigade.  On 6th July 1916, Foster was taken on strength with the 2nd Double Squadron in Serapeum, Egypt.  These dismounted squadrons were formed from Light Horse reinforcements for the purpose of defending the Suez Canal.  Foster was admitted to hospital at El Ferdan on 14th September, suffering from pyrexia, and was discharged to duty after five days.  On 10th October, Foster was charged with the offences of "threatening a non-commissioned officer (NCO); using insulting language to an NCO; being drunk in the lines and being absent from the 1415hrs parade on the previous day".  He was found guilty by his Commanding Officer, and awarded 7 days field punishment number 2.  This consisted of being deprived of pay, and allocated additional hard labour, to be carried out whilst wearing handcuffs and/or fetters (leg irons), but not attached to a fixed object.

After the Double Squadrons were disbanded, Foster was then taken on strength with the newly formed 4th Camel Regiment on 2nd November 1916.  They immediately commenced intensive training in the Western Desert around Abbassia, Egypt, to detect any remaining pro-Turkish Senussi tribesmen, and in preparation for the long-range patrols of the Sinai, for which they were to be utilised in operations against the Ottoman Army.  This training included both day and night long distance route marches in the desert, seriously testing their navigation and camel riding skills.

On 8th December 1916, five weeks after his transfer to the Camel Corps, Foster was admitted to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Abbassia, Egypt.  He complained of having sustained a hard knock to his right testicle while riding a camel in Abbassia 14 days earlier, which resulted in pain and swelling.  He was diagnosed with a hydrocele and discharged 44 days later.  He then spent another 3 weeks in the Abbassia Convalescent Depot, but it appears that this condition may have been ongoing.

During his convalescence, Foster was transferred to the Reserve Company of the Imperial Camel Corps (ICC) on 7th February 1917.  Once fit for duty, he was taken on strength with 17th Company, 4th ANZAC Battalion, of the Imperial Camel Brigade.  Between 28th March and 9th July 1917, Foster was admitted to hospital or Field Ambulance on 3 separate occasions for an unspecified condition, for periods between 3 and 9 days.

On 3rd December 1917, Foster was wounded in action when he sustained a general shrapnel wound to his right cheek from a night-time shell blast during a raid on enemy trenches, the concussion from which knocked him to the ground.  The 4th ANZAC Battalion ICC Unit War Diary (Dec 1917 to Feb 1918) pages 3 – 4, describes the events of that date as follows:

“Work on the trenches was continued throughout the day, while the 17th Company were being prepared for a raid on the BALD HILL which was to take place during the evening.  The object of the raid was to discover if possible how strongly the position was held by the enemy, and to ascertain what state of defence the place was put into.  For this purpose, three specially selected officers were sent with the raiding party….The raiding party consisted of 100 men and 6 officers with the three officers named attached for special duty, the raiders were only to remain 10 minutes on the post.

The party left the No. 9 post which was held by 3rd Battalion at 1940 and moved up a nullah to within about 300 yards of the position and halted.  At 1955 the Artillery barrage opened, which was the signal for the party to move forward, which they did having been organised into three waves.  When we were within about 50 yards of where the enemy trenches were supposed to be we were met with a shower of bombs which had been thrown by men concealed in shallow holes and quite hidden by the long grass, these were responsible for a large percentage of our casualties. 

As far as can be discovered none of these men escaped, all of them being killed in their hiding places.  Simultaneously with the bursting of these bombs, enemy artillery opened up a heavy fire with high explosive and shrapnel and machine guns.  Through a miscalculation the main point of the raid came in contact with the enemy position about 50 yards east of the point aimed at, with the result that the left flank did not receive the benefit of the covering fire from our own machine and Lewis guns.

Eventually all objectives were gained, but the covering fire from the 3rd Battalion posts opened before all the wounded were got away, but no further casualties resulted from this fire, all wounded had been got back to our dressing station by 2140, one man who had been killed was left behind.

Our casualties were:

Wounded -    4 Officers     33 Other Ranks

Killed -                              2 Other Ranks”

As a result of having been wounded during this raid, Foster was again admitted to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Abbassia on 6th December 1917, where "small pieces of steel were removed from his face" on 21st December.  He was discharged to the Australian Base Details Company in Abbassia three days later, and re-joined 17th Company of the 4th ANZAC Battalion ICC on 12th January 1918.

The War Diaries of the 4th ANZAC Battalion in the early months of 1918 show that the general condition of their remaining camels was poor, despite ongoing training to try to rebuild their strength, and the losses they’d suffered during the Allied advance north through Palestine meant that there weren’t sufficient left.  The bulk of the Imperial Camel Corps was disbanded in June 1918, as horses again became a more appropriate and suitable mount in the more fertile country of northern Palestine, no longer impeded by desert.  As the personnel of the ICC were re-allocated to the Light Horse Regiments, Foster marched into the 5th Base Details Company in Moascar on 17th June, followed by the Isolation Camp, then the 4th Light Horse Training Regiment in July. 

On 31st July 1918, Foster was transferred to and taken on strength with the 12th Light Horse Regiment in Moascar, as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, with whom he served until 29th September, when he was admitted to the 54th Hospital in Haifa, for an unspecified illness.  He took no further part in the War, rejoining his Unit after the Armistice, on 18th November.  On 11th June 1919, he was admitted to the 26th Stationary Hospital in Moascar with scabies, returning to his Unit on 19th June.

On 20th July 1919, Foster embarked aboard the HMAT Morvada in Kantara, Egypt, for return to Australia.  He arrived in Sydney on 29th August, and was subsequently discharged in the 2nd Military District, Sydney, on 21st October 1919 due to the termination of his period of enlistment.  He was later awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service.  Foster's brother Clarence also served with the AIF, in the 55th Infantry Battalion, and also returned to Australia.

In 1921, Foster married Mary McCLELLAND, and they went on to have 7 children (Charles, William, Victor, Kathleen, Maxwell, Eileen and Ralph).  They settled in Goulburn, until moving to 218 Pitt Street Merrylands NSW in the late 1930s.

During WW2, at the age of 46, Foster enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces (CMF) in Goulburn NSW, on 29th July 1940.  He put his age down by eight years, and stated that he’d not previously served on any active service.  His next of kin was given as his wife Mary at a Parramatta address, but he supplied his own address as being “c/o Post Office, Goulburn”.  His medical examination found him to be “unfit for active, but fit for other service”, due to defective hearing.  He was taken on strength with the 9th Recruit Reception Battalion in Glenfield, NSW as a Private, Army number N77199. 

On 27th August 1940, Foster was appointed as a Lance Corporal, then promoted to the rank of Corporal the very next day.  On 30th September 1940, after being detached to the 17th Infantry Training Battalion, Foster was detached to the Eastern Command Cooking School No. 18, at Liverpool NSW.  He re-joined his Unit on the 20th October, but again attended the Cooking School for three days from the 13th November, most likely as an Instructor (having been a baker for more than 20 years).  On 18th February 1941, Foster was transferred from the 17th Infantry Training Battalion to the 5th Infantry Training Battalion in Dubbo, however, on 4th April 1941, he was discharged “services no longer required”, to allow him to return to his civilian occupation as a baker.

After just three months, on 4th July 1941, Foster re-enlisted in the CMF at the Eastern Command Recruiting Depot, Paddington.  Four days later, he marched into the Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) Detention Camp in Cowra, New South Wales, where he was taken on strength with the 22nd Garrison Battalion with the rank of Private, Army number N273074.  Two weeks later he was appointed as a Camp cook for the Australian military guard personnel on staff.  On 19th August 1941, Foster was appointed an acting Corporal, and permanently promoted to that rank on 10th December the same year.

On 30th June 1943, Foster was transferred to the Australian Army Catering Corps (AACC), on attachment to 22nd Garrison Battalion, Cowra.  On 5th November 1943, he marched out on transfer from the Cowra POW Camp, which meant he was not present during the mass break-out at that location on 5th August 1944, when over 1,100 Japanese prisoners of war escaped.  Foster was taken on strength with the 16th Garrison Battalion at the POW Internment Camp in Hay, NSW, on 7th November 1943.  Only eight days later, he was appointed an acting Sergeant, making him the senior non-commissioned officer in charge of the Camp kitchen.

On 9th February 1944, Foster was charged with the offence of “neglect to the prejudice of good order and military discipline” (this charge usually relates to lack of proper cleaning and/or maintenance of military issued equipment or property).  He was found guilty by his Commanding Officer, and was awarded the punishment of reverting back to the rank of Corporal.  Three days later, he went absent without leave (AWL), and on the 14th February was charged with the offences of “breaking out of barracks, and AWL from 1300hrs 12/2/44 to 0600hrs 13/2/44”.  The punishment awarded was to be reprimanded by his Commanding Officer.

On 27th April 1945, Foster marched out from Hay POW Group to Land Headquarters, School of Army Catering and Cooking Mobile Wing, where he attended from 30th April until 20th May.  During this time, on 4th May, Foster was again promoted to the rank of Sergeant.  He returned to the 16th Garrison Battalion, Hay POW Group, on 23rd May 1945, and served in that posting for the remainder of the War.

Foster was discharged from the CMF on 1st April 1946 due to demobilisation.  He served a total of 1,733 days on continuous full-time War service within Australia, for which he qualified for the award of the 1939-45 War Medal, the Australia Service Medal, and the General Service Badge.  His sons Charles, William, Victor, and Maxwell all served in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force, and daughter Kathleen served in the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service.

On 9th September 1961, Foster and his son Victor were struck by a motor vehicle outside their home in Pitt Street, Merrylands.  Victor sustained serious injuries, which he survived, but Foster was killed.  He was aged 67 years.  The male driver of the vehicle was subsequently charged with manslaughter.

Lest we forget…

Compiled by Karan CAMPBELL-DAVIS from historical records held by the National Archives of Australia (WW1 and WW2 Service Records); Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW;  Ryerson Index;  Australian War Memorial (4th ANZAC Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps Unit War Diaries); and The Australian Light Horse Association website.