Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles Herbert Gough #3526 25th Battalion

Charlie Gough was born in Brisbane and attended Rosalie State School, the son of Harry Gough and Ellen Grigson. Charlie enlisted at Adelaide Street Recruiting Depot on 28th August 1915. His enlistment papers describe a slight young man, only 5foot 3 inches (160 centimetres) tall and weighing just 110 pounds (50 kilograms). Charlie was 21 years old and gave his occupation as grocer’s assistant. At the time he was living in Engelsburg (Kalbar). Letters from Ellen Grigson in Charlie’s file describe how upset she was at his enlistment. She always referred to him as “my dear boy’”. Charlie’s father had died around 1910 and Ellen had been named as her son’s next of kin.

Charlie spent some time in a depot battalion at Enoggera before being allocated as a reinforcement for the 25th Battalion. The 25th Battalion, as part of the 7th Brigade of the 2nd Division AIF had departed Brisbane in July 1915. Charlie and the rest of the 8th reinforcements departed Sydney on 3rd January 1916 bound for Egypt. Amongst the reinforcements was Norman Girling, a young man who Charlie knew well from growing up in the Rosalie area.

The reinforcements were marched to training camps along the Suez Canal before departing for Marseilles in late March 1916. Charlie spent some time in depot camps before finally joining his battalion in reserve in the Ypres salient near Messines in June.

July 1916 marked the beginning of the much awaited Somme offensive. Gen Douglas Haig had at his disposal large numbers of troops in what was referred to as Kitchener’s New Army. These troops, unlike the small expeditionary force that had originally been sent to France, were not professional soldiers. Most were volunteers, often from factories, towns and sporting clubs who had all enlisted together as part of the “Pals Battalions.” On 1st July, the Tommies walked out from the start tapes into a hail of German fire. Haig’s divisions suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day.

The gains obtained in the first weeks of July were minor, but in spite of the casualty lists, Haig was determined to push on. A major obstacle was a low ridge astride the Albert to Bapaume Road at a village called Pozieres. In the middle of July the 1st Australian Division were put into the line to capture the village. Once the village itself was secured, the 7th brigade of the 2nd Division were sent into the line.

The objective was to take a blockhouse which had been built on the site of a windmill which occupied a position on the highest part of the ridge. The blockhouse was behind two lines of trenches, and provided a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. The attack, the first major offensive by the 25th Battalion since arriving in France, was to begin just after midnight on the 29th July. The attack was a failure, with the 25th Battalion suffering 343 casualties (from a strength of a little less than 1000 men). On the site of the windmill today is a commemorative stone which reads:

“The ruin of the Pozieres windmill which lies here was the centre of the struggle on this part of the Somme Battlefield in July and August 1916. It was captured by Australian troops who fell more thickly on this ridge than on any other battlefields of the war.”

Sadly, one of those who “fell more thickly” was Private Charlie Gough. He was originally listed as “Missing” on 29 July 1916. His mother, as his next of kin, was informed that Michael was missing in August 1916.

Pozieres was the first major offensive by the new Australian divisions on the Western Front and the casualties; some 23,000 all told for the months of July and August shocked the Australian public. The military authorities were overwhelmed by the extent of the losses and were unable to provide any meaningful information to relatives and friends back in Australia about the fate of their loved ones.

Ellen Grigson was finally notified that following a court of inquiry held one year after Pozieres, it had been determined that Charles Gough had been killed in action. In an attempt to learn more about how her son had died, Ellen wrote to the Red Cross Wounded and Missing Inquiry Service who attempted to track down any one who had knowledge of Charlie. From a separate source, Ellen learned that Charlie and Norman Girling had both been hit by an explosive shell while sheltering in a trench. No trace of either man could be located after the attack. The Pozieres battlefield would be fought over twice more before the war ended and any hope of locating their remains was lost.

Charlie’s family continued to grieve over his loss with his mother writing several letters to the authorities. The final letter is dated 1937 and was written by Charlie’s brother. He noted that a recent story in the “Waterloo Bay Leader” revealed that the remains of two Australian soldiers had been exhumed from the Pozieres battlefield and could either be his long lost brother? The reply from base records was not encouraging.

In 1938, the Australian National Memorial was dedicated by King George VI at Villers Bretonneux, across the Somme from Pozieres. The memorial bears the names of 10,000 Australians who gave their lives in France and have no known grave. Charlie Gough and Norm Girling, the friends from Rosalie, are listed together.