Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Maurice Charlton's Biography,

World War 1, or occasionally referred to as the War to End all Wars, was a worldwide all out blood massacre which left many countries, cities and lives in sadness. World War 1 would begin in Europe on July 28th 1914 and end on the 11th of November 1918, lasting four heartbreaking years. While there is no set point on why the World War began, the majority believe that it was due to the assassination of Prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Some also believed that it was caused by the cockiness in power and relying on allies, concluding in a worldwide war to suddenly occur. The worldwide war was split into two sides; the Allies which consisted of Serbia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Australia and the United States while the Central Powers was led by Austria, Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.

Maurice Charlton, labourer and soldier for World War 1 was born on England near the parish of Shepton Mallet on April of 1891. Charlton would move to Australia and finished school at the age of 18, and began working as a labourer. This would usually be construction. He would also work as a cook before enlisting as a volunteer from Queensland for the war as the 15th Infantry Battalion on January 16th, 1915.

On the 17th of July 1915, Charlton was shot in the shoulder at Gallipoli and transfered to hospital in Malta. One month into the recovery, Charlton would be declared as dangerously ill until the 7th of September, where he was announced out of danger. While Charlton was attempting to recover, he would fall short and be announced disabled. This was likely because of the shoulder injury, however, there is no proof or information on it.

Runners, also called military couriers or foot soldiers were soldiers whose jobs were to give information from the front line to the military. During World War 1, being a runner was extremely important. This was before telecommunication. Soldiers would also rely on copper wire lines, however, they would often be damaged during the war. Radio technology was available but was regarded as too insecure and unuseful for the frontline to use during a battle; hence why runners were so important.(1) This would be the job of the 15th battalion. The 15th battalion would also join the 13th, 14th and 16th battalions to create the 4th brigade.

The 15th battalion embarked for overseas a few days before Christmas, arriving at Egypt. The main focus for the battalion was defending the front line during May to August. On August, the battalion attacked the Hill 971. The Hill had been taken at a great cost with many lives taken, however, Australia would retreat not too soon after due to Turkish reinforcements. With the unsuccessfulness of the attack on Hill 60, the 15th battalion the rest of the 4th brigade served at ANZAC until the evacuation on December.(2)

As June 1916 approached, the battalion sailed to France and the Western Front which was where the majority of the war occurred. From then to 1918, the soldiers would take part in the bloody trench warfare. The first major action would be the ‘the battle of Pozieres’ on August 16th along with most of the 4th brigade. The battalion would suffer heavy major losses at the bullecourt in France on April 1917. This was due to the major attack which the entire brigade attempted on the Germans with no tank support. With success, the brigade would spend the remainder of 1917 in Belgium, sieging the Hindenburg Line.   

While the Germans attempted to rise once more with their army, the battalions bravery help stop the sudden spurt of offence. All battles would stop on the 11th of September 1918 at 11am. Members of the battalion which survived, returned to Australia for demobilisation and discharge.

While Maurice Charlton’s journey in World War 1 ended early, his bravery to offer his services to help was what many were not able to do.