HANDLEY, Charles Henry
| Service Number: | 3534 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 September 1915, Enlisted at Holdsworthy (now Holsworthy) |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, April 1885 |
| Home Town: | Hargraves, Mid-Western Regional, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railways Permanent Way Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 16 June 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Y Farm Military Cemetery, Bois-Grenier |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gulgong and Mudgee District Roll of Honor, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Mudgee District Fallen Soldiers Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 3534, 19th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Holdsworthy (now Holsworthy) | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3534, 19th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3534, 19th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Sydney | |
| 16 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 3534, 1st Pioneer Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3534 awm_unit: 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-06-16 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Charles Henry HANDLEY served in the Per-Way Branch of the Railways and the 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion in the AIF.
At the time his enlistment at Holdsworthy on 24th September 1915 Handley described his ‘calling’ as ‘laborer’, and this would be consistent with employment in the Permanent Way Branch.
Handley had been born at Coonabarabran about April 1885. At the time of enlistment he was unmarried and gave his mother Rosetta Toomey, living at Hargraves via Mudgee, as his next of kin. He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Berrima’ on 12th December 1915 and reached Egypt in February 1916.
He was killed in action only two months later on 16th June 1916.
Austin Blackford (4140) reported: ‘At Fleurbaix he was killed on a parapet by a Bullet through his head. He was packing sandbags. He died about 5 minutes after he was hit. He only said, “My God, I’m hit”. I saw him for I was walking just alongside. I did not see him after. The Stretcher Bearers took him away – he left Sydney with me.’
He was buried at Wye Farm Military Cemetery, 3½ miles S of Armentières by Rev R A Harris, the chaplain attached to the Battalion.
Submitted 22 August 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Charles Henry HANDLEY served in the Per-Way Branch of the Railways and the 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion in the AIF.
At the time his enlistment at Holdsworthy on 24th September 1915 Handley described his ‘calling’ as ‘laborer’, and this would be consistent with employment in the Permanent Way Branch.
Handley had been born at Coonabarabran about April 1885. At the time of enlistment he was unmarried and gave his mother Rosetta Toomey, living at Hargraves via Mudgee, as his next of kin. He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Berrima’ on 12th December 1915 and reached Egypt in February 1916. He was at first attached to the 2nd Battalion but transferred to the Pioneers in March 1916. He embarked through Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Forces and reached France at Marseilles in early April.
He was killed in action only two months later on 16th June.
Austin Blackford (4140) reported: ‘At Fleurbaix he was killed on a parapet by a Bullet through his head. He was packing sandbags. He died about 5 minutes after he was hit. He only said, “My God, I’m hit”. I saw him for I was walking just alongside. I did not see him after. The Stretcher Bearers took him away – he left Sydney with me.’
He was buried at Wye Farm Military Cemetery, 3½ miles S of Armentières by Rev R A Harris, the chaplain attached to the Battalion.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board