Charles Stewart BENNETT

Charles Stewart BENNETT Update Details

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BENNETT, Charles Stewart

Service Number:	1909
Enlisted:	13 January 1915
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	8th Infantry Battalion
Born:	Winchelsea, Victoria, Australia, 18 August 1896
Home Town:	Geelong, Greater Geelong, Victoria
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Draper
Died:	Killed in Action, France, 18 August 1916, aged 20 years
Cemetery:	London Cemetery and Extension, Longueval Plot 10, Row H, Grave 46. (Remains discovered 1940), London Cemetery and Extension, Longueval, Picardie, France
Memorials:	Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Winchelsea WWI Memorial

World War 1 Service

13 Jan 1915:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1909, 8th Infantry Battalion
17 Apr 1915:	Involvement Private, 1909, 8th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: ''
17 Apr 1915:	Embarked Private, 1909, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne

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Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks

Son of Thomas Henry and Sarah Elizabeth Bennett of Geelong West, Victoria, both of whom signed their consent for him to join the AIF at the age of 18.

Charles joined the 8th Battalion on Gallipoli during June 1915. Despite bouts of gastritis he stayed with his unit until the evacuation in late 1915.

His regimental number was changed from 1909 to 1664 sometime in 1916. He was first reported wounded on 18 August 1916, then wounded and missing on the same date, and it was not until March 1918, 19 months later, that he was confirmed killed in action on the same date. This caused much consternation and angst to his family, with several letters backward and forth seeking information and clarification.

During 1940, his remains were discovered with his identity disc, near Pozieres. He was reinterred in the London Cemetery and Extension, 24 years after his death. His mother had long died, and it is not known if contact was made with his father.

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