CARSON, Cecil Hance
| Service Number: | 5656 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Leicester, Leicestershire, England, January 1898 |
| Home Town: | Cressy, Colac-Otway, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Leicester School, England |
| Occupation: | Farm labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Gueudecourt, France, 5 February 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5656, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1917: | Involvement Private, 5656, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 4 May 1917: | Embarked Private, 5656, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne |
Help us honour Cecil Hance Carson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Cecil Hance Carson was the son of Cornelius and Ada Louise Carson, Leicester, England. He had come to Australia with his brother John Carson sometime after 1911.
They were both quite young, and may having been boarding at the Manse, a Presbyterian house in Lismore, Victoria.
Cecil’s father noted on his roll of honour form, “At the age of 14 was presented with a bronze medal of the Royal Humane Society for saving life from drowning.” The Royal Humane Society records show that Cecil Carson was awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal on 9 December 1911, when Carson was 13 years of age. The report states, “On the 9th December 1911, a boy fell into the Soar at Leicester, the river being in flood and 9 to 10 feet deep. John Nellist, aged 12, went in, but failed to save him; Carson then plunged in and brought him out in an unconscious state, from which John Carson restored him. Testimonial on parchment to J. Nellist; certificate to J. Carson.”
Cecil’s younger brother, 2595 Private John Carson 21st Battalion AIF, enlisted at 16 years of age in 1915 and was severely wounded at Pozieres during July 1916.
Cecil joined the 14th Battalion and joined the unit at the front during December 1916. He was killed in action at Gueudecourt on the 5 February 1917, and has no known grave.
An article appeared in the Lismore, Derrinallum and Cressy Advertiser on 1 August 1917, under the heading, ‘TWIN SOLDIERS.’
“Shortly after the outbreak of war, two twin brothers, Jack and Jim Carson, enlisted from Berrybank and Lismore respectively. They were English lads, about 19 years of age, and had no parental sanction to get to enlist. Jim was killed in action, and Jack was wounded in the jaw. Charlie Monk, a Berrybank soldier, wrote recently to Mrs Robertson, who employed Jack prior to his enlistment, that he had been fitted up with an artificial jaw and was again in the fighting line. He was known in this district as a fine swimmer, having taken a prominent part in the aquatic carnivals at Berrybank and Cressy in pre-war days. His sister is said to be the champion swimmer of England.”
Their younger sister, Gladys Helena Carson, was an English swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1924 and won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
Cecil Carson is remembered on the Cressy and District War Memorial Gates.