S11937
STOKES, Charles Percy
| Service Number: | 2263 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 April 1916, Kadina, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kangarilla, South Australia, 30 March 1887 |
| Home Town: | Meadows, Mount Barker, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Charge wheeler |
| Died: | Natural causes, Meadows, South Australia, 14 November 1949, aged 62 years |
| Cemetery: |
Meadows General Cemetery, S.A. |
| Memorials: | Meadows Boys Roll of Honour, Meadows War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2263, Kadina, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2263, 50th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Aug 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2263, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Adelaide | |
| 17 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2263, 43rd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Trinity College
Charles Percy Stokes was born in Kangarilla, SA, and aged 29 years and 1 month upon enlistment into the Army on the 27th of August, 1916. He had no prior experience with the war, being prior occupied as a charge wheeler, and was enlisted into the 43rd Infantry Battalion - one of the last predominantly South Australian Battalions to be formed in the war (1, 4).
The Battalion was re-located to, first, Egypt, and then England for training (1). After this the battalion endured several months of trench warfare in 1917, including involvement in the Battle of Messines ear Ypres - a fierce battle which was punctuated by use of gas-artillery on the German side, mines, and 1,500 field guns (3). Private Stokes would have been involved in this battle, likely as one of the diggers, and contributed to the resultant Allied Victory.
After working in France for several months, Private Stokes was sent on leave to the Bulford Hospital in the UK in July of 1918 (4). Bulford was a hospital established at an army base that was transferred to the Australians in late 1916. He was one of the 398 discharged that month, the majority of cases being syphilis and NVD - nausea, vomiting & diarrhea (5). NVD was caused often by bacterial infection, which the poor conditions of the trenches were prime for. Venereal disease was, although rarely mentioned, also very common amongst soldiers at the time, as the bleary and grim reality of war lead to many seeking any sort of possible refuge (5). Of the entire battalion, 386 men were killed and 1,321 were wounded (1).
He returned to Australia after the war on March of 1919, and was discharged on the 17th of April that year due to the conclusion of the war. He served a total serve 2 years 356 days, 156 of which were spent in Australia, and the rest overseas (1, 2).
There are records after the war of him applying for a copy of his discharge certificate on November the 12th, 1928, due to "applying for employment where preference is given to returned soldiers" (4).
Not much else is known of his life after the war, however it is known he died and was buried near his hometown in Meadows, SA, in 1949, aged 62 years old, of natural causes (2).
Bibliography
'43rd Infantry Battalion ', RSL Virtual War Memorial, Accessed: 14th September 2017, https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/64
'STOKES, Charles Percy', RSL Virtual War Memorial, Accessed: 14th September 2017, https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/176492
'The Battle of Messines 1917 ', Army.Gov, 2016, Accessed: 17th September 2017, https://www.army.gov.au/our-history/history-in-focus/the-battle-of-messines-1917
'NAA: B2455, STOKES CHARLES PERCY', National Archives of Australia, Accessed: 25th September 2017, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8089867
'AWM4 26/69/14 - July 1918', Australian War Memorial, Accessed: 24th September 2017, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1352651
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