LYON, Charles Herbert Scott
| Service Number: | 3356 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 July 1915, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 25 June 1897 |
| Home Town: | Sherwood, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 27 September 1917, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Plot XXIII, Row A, Grave 3 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Corinda Sherwood Shire Roll of Honor, Graceville War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3356, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3356, 15th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3356, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Brisbane | |
| 5 Feb 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 4 Aug 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 27 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 15th Infantry Battalion, Polygon Wood, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 15th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-09-27 |
Help us honour Charles Herbert Scott Lyon's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"Mr. C. W. Lyon, Sherwood, received information on Wednesday night that his son, Second Lieut. C. H. S. Lyon, had died of wounds in France. The deceased soldier enlisted on July 27, 1915, and left Brisbane in October of the same year. Prior to enlisting he was employed on the wool staff of Moreheads Ltd. He received his commission at Trinity College, Cambridge, on August 4." - from the Brisbane Courier 12 Oct 1917 (nla.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Charles Lyon was born in Townsville. By the time of his enlistment his family, father Charles William and mother Annie, had moved to Hood Street, Sherwood. Charles presented himself for enlistment in Brisbane on 27th July 1915. He stated his occupation as clerk and was 19 years old.
Charles was drafted as a private into the 11th reinforcements of the 15th Battalion. He departed from Brisbane on the “Seang Bee” on 21st October 1915. By the time Charles arrived in Egypt, the Australian forces had been withdrawn from Gallipoli and were undergoing a period of expansion. Half of the original 15th Battalion which had been on Gallipoli since May 1915 were designated to create a new battalion, the 47th. Charles and the rest of the reinforcements joined the 15th to bring it up to full strength. During his sojourn in Egypt, Charles was hospitalised briefly with mumps.
The newly reinforced 15th Battalion arrived in Marseilles on 8th June 1916 and proceeded to the “nursery trenches” around Armentieres. In July, the battalion was called to the Somme and saw its first major battle at Pozieres in July and August. After being taken out of the line Charles was promoted to Lance Corporal. As winter approached Haig; the supreme British commander in France closed down the front. The winter was extremely severe, with troops exposed to snow and sleet. Charles was promoted to corporal on 22nd November and was made sergeant in February the following year.
With the arrival of spring on the Somme, the Germans began a planned withdrawal back to pre-prepared defensive positions on what was called the Hindenburg Line. The 15th Battalion along with the rest of the 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions pursued them cautiously. Charles however was headed in the opposite direction. On the 31st March 1917 he was posted to the Officer Cadet Battalion in Cambridge, England.
On 4th August 1917, Charles was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 15th battalion. He rejoined his unit in Belgium on the 20th August. The Australian 1st Division were at this time engaged in a series of bite and hold operations outside Ypres which had begun in June at Messines and progressed to the Menin Road. The next objective was a wooded area named Polygon Wood on the trench maps. The 15th Battalion in company with the three other battalions in the brigade would assault the enemy positions behind a creeping artillery barrage. The battalion diary for September 1917 records that the unit suffered fairly light casualties in this operation, with only 14 other ranks and one officer being killed. Unfortunately the one officer was Charles Lyon.
Red Cross reports indicate that he had been struck in the abdomen (or back) by a high explosive shell. He was placed on a stretcher (or trolley) and taken to a Field Ambulance Unit and then to a Casualty Clearing Station where he consequently died. His death is recorded officially as Died of Wounds.
Charles was buried close to the Casualty Clearing Station and his grave marked. At the end of the war, the Imperial War Graves Commission began to consolidate the known graves into military cemeteries. This theatre of the war has perhaps the greatest number of cemeteries, including the largest Commonwealth War Cemetery and Memorial in the world; Tyne Cot near Passchendaele. Charles was finally interred in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery near Poperinghe. His parents received photographs of his grave as well as two medals, a memorial scroll and a commemorative plaque.
Courtesy of Ian Lang
Mango Hill
Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Charles Herbert Scott LYON was born on 25th June, 1897 in Townsville, Queensland
His parents were Charles William LYON & Annie McKEE
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