RICKARDS, Charles William
| Service Number: | 3483 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 July 1915, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 9 September 1888 |
| Home Town: | Richmond (V), Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Night Watchman |
| Died: | Suicide - Lysol Poisoning, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 May 1926, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
Brighton General Cemetery, Victoria Church of England ZH Grave 71 |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 3483, 14th Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3483, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3483, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne |
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Charles William was born 9 September 1888 at Carlton the son of Charles William Rickards and his wife Helen Hodkinson.
Charles married Maggie Rosler in 1911.
Charles a Watchman enlisted 6 July 1915 and with the 14th Battalion he Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A71 Nestor on 11 October 1915.
He disembarked at Egypt and proceed to join the British Expeditionary Force on 1 June 1916 and disembarked at Marseilles.
During 1916 Charles was admitted to hospital on a number of occasions suffering from being sick to having Influenza and Trench Feet.
Charles was wounded and was captured 11 April 1917 at Bullecourt and taken Prisoner and interred in in a German Hospital in Belgium.
From the Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files that information from Lieutenant Clive Gower in a letter to M W Meyers from the German Hospital 3 May 1917 who asked that a cable might be sent to Mrs Rickards of 75 Fraser Stret in Richmond ‘husband wounded, prisoner, recovering rapidly.
Charles was then interred at Parchin in German till he was repatriated to England 14 January 1919. After leave Charles embarked for Melbourne on board H T Shropshire arriving 16 May 1919.
Charles was discharged 8 July 1919 as medically unfit – disability a gun shot wound to his throat.
In September 1922 – Divorce Proceedings - Charles William Rickards, aged 33 years, of Roseneath street, Clifton Hill, driver, against Maggie Rickards, aged 43 years.
It is not known when Charles married Maude Ethel Rose, their sons Robert Charles was born on 24 October 1924 and Ronald Frederick on 9 June 1926
Sadly Charles took his own life by drinking Lysol Poison and died at the Alfred Hospital on 21 May 1926 and was buried at the Brighton Cemetery at Church of England ZH Grave 71.
At his Inquest it was stated that he had undergone several operations for throat trouble at the Caulfield Military Hospital and attended there every three weeks for medicine. About three weeks prior to his death he had gone before a Board and was informed that there was no more that they could do for him. From then on he became demented and would get out of bed and walk about during the night smoking complaining of his throat and threatened to do away with himself.
Charles had been working as a Driver for Melbourne Electric Light Company.
When Maude died 18 June 1955 she was laid to rest with Charles.
Source: NAA, AIF Project, Ancestry, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957)Wednesday 20 September 1922, Inquest Deposition File 1926/689, BDM’s, Brighton Cemetery Registers.