HAMILTON, Charles
| Service Number: | 569 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 February 1915, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 60th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Learmonth, Victoria, Australia, 24 January 1871 |
| Home Town: | Hawthorn, Boroondara, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Geelong College and Melbourne University, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Barrister and Solicitor |
| Died: | Natural causes , Mont Park, Melbourne, , Victoria, Australia, 17 August 1934, aged 63 years |
| Cemetery: |
Burwood General Cemetery, Victoria, Australia Memorial: ID 249687467 |
| Memorials: | Law Institute of Victoria |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 569, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 23rd Infantry Battalion | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 3 May 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 60th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Jun 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 60th Infantry Battalion | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 60th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| 30 Jul 1916: | Wounded Lieutenant, 60th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , Shell shock | |
| 9 Apr 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 60th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Charles Hamilton's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
Lieutenant Hamilton, writing of (popular Comedian) Private Tom Dawson's death, said:-
"I knew him well in Egypt. He was the life and soul of entertainments got up for the Red Cross funds, and to cheer up the boys. When we were in the desert he was the same bright old spirit, and did a lot to cheer everyone. He fell in an attack we made a few days ago. Just before our time for jumping the parapet arrived I saw him. The Bosches were sending in some big ones, and things were only middling. "Well, Tom," I said, "How is it now?" "Well," said Tom. with his quaint old smile, "I'd rather have a hard-boiled egg" - you will remember his old song. I passed Tom's remark along the line, and it relieved the tension quite a lot. We hopped over, and I found Tom coming along on my right as cool and determined as a man could be. The machine gun fire was as hot as most enthusiasts would care about, and Tom and the boy on my left went down at the same instant. Our advance was checked there, so I got Tom under as good cover as was available. He was short in the lower part of the body, and I felt from the first that he was done. I think he knew it himself, but all the same he kept brave and patient, though he suffered a good deal, I'm afraid. We lay out in No Man's Land all night and in the morning I had to leave him. It was impossible for me to carry him alone, and there was no one there to help me. He conld not bear to be shifted, and there was a small river to cross. "Good-bye, sir! God bless you!" said old Tom as we shook hands. I crawled back under machine gun fire and snipers' bullets, and managed to reach our lines again. As soon as it was possible stretcher-bearers brought him in. He was still living, but died almost immediately. In his life as a soldier, Tom Dawson did fine service to the Australian army by devoting his gifts to the pleasure and encouragement of his comrades. He died like a hero - an honor to the theatrical profession and to the land of his birth." - from the Service Record of 3323 Pte. Tom Dawson (aka Beasley) (recordsearch.naa.gov.au)
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