THURSTON, Charles
| Service Number: | 1244 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 34th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wrentham, Suffolk, United Kingdom , December 1882 |
| Home Town: | Bondi, Waverley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Boolaroo, New South Wales, Australia, 22 September 1928, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, NSW ANGLICAN 2-136. 10. |
| Memorials: | Sulphide Corporation Pty. Ltd. Cockle Creek Works Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1244, 34th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 1244, 34th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 2 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 1244, 34th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Sydney | |
| 2 Jun 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1244, 34th Infantry Battalion, Gassed | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 1244, 34th Infantry Battalion, 2nd MD | |
| 4 Aug 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 34th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
Served during The Great War, resting at Sandgate Cemetery.
93 years ago today, on the Sunday afternoon of the 23rd September 1928 (3 funerals on this day), Corporal Robert Charles Thurston, 34th Battalion (Reg No-1244), miner from 44 Penkivil Street, Bondi, New South Wales and 74 Fourth Street, Boolaroo, N.S.W., was laid to rest at Sandgate Cemetery, age 44. ANGLICAN 2-136. 10.
Born at Wrentham, Suffolk, United Kingdom about 1884 to George and Mary A Thurston; husband of Ellen Annie Louisa Thurston nee Boon (married 1912, Waverley, N.S.W., died 1960, 32 years a widow), Robert enlisted January 1916 at West Maitland, N.S.W.
Robert was invalided home February 1919, being discharged medically unfit (trench fever) on the 5th April 1919. He was welcome home and presented with a gold medal.
Mr. Thurston’s name has been inscribed on the Waverley Soldiers' War Memorial (photos, unveiled on the 15th December 1918 by Governor General Ferguson, 1690 names inscribed), Sulphide Corporation Pty Ltd Cockle Creek Works Roll of Honour, Maitland & District Municipal Roll of Honor, Boolaroo District Roll of Honour, West Maitland Protestant Alliance Lodge No. 42 Roll of Honour - and The Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall.
Robert’s gravesite plaque proudly tells us of his service with the 34th Battalion, 1st A.I.F., and I have placed poppies in remembrance of his sacrifice for God, King and Country (note that M.M. inscribed, apparently incorrect).
Service record indicates being notified of death, no date recorded.
Would probably be officially commemorated with a Commonwealth Graves Plaque at the gravesite.
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.