DAVINET, Charles Beauchamp
| Service Numbers: | 172, R172 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Barrington, Somerset, England, 1872 |
| Home Town: | Mannum, Mid Murray, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Illness, At Sea, 31 May 1919 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Buried at Sea, Chatby Memorial, Alexandria, Egypt |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Chatby Memorial, Alexandria, Egypt, Mannum District Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Corporal, 172, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Corporal, 172, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide | |
| 2 Nov 1917: | Involvement Sergeant, R172, 14th Australian General Hospital, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '24' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1917: | Embarked Sergeant, R172, 14th Australian General Hospital, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne | |
| 31 May 1919: | Involvement 172, 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 172 awm_unit: 3rd Australian Light Horse Field Ambulance awm_rank: S/Sergeant awm_died_date: 1919-05-31 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Modbury High School
Charles Beauchamp Davinet was born in Barrington, Somerset, England in 1872. At some point Charles and his family relocated to Australia but the date is unknown. A Freemason register shows that Charles was initiated in 1903 at the age of 36 to the Khartoum Lodge in Sudan and his profession was a Sergeant. His WW1 Attestation Papers state that he served with the Royal Army Medical Corp until 1906.
Charles was the son of Edward Davinet who was listed as Charles’ next of kin on his Attestation papers. Charles would later live in Mannum, South Australia, and his Father lived in Wolseley, South Australia.
Davinet enlisted in the AIF on the 28th of August 1914 in Morphettville, South Australia, at the age of 41 and 11 months. Charles worked as a Clerk before he enlisted and was a part of the Church of England. He stood at 5ft 10.75 inches and weighed 189 pounds when he enlisted. He was also never married and was single up until his death.
When Charles joined the AIF he was ranked as a Corporal in the 10th Battalion due to his previous service with the Royal Army Medical Corp. Charles embarked and left Adelaide on 20th October 1914 on the transport ship A11 Ascanius. During his time and service, he rose to the rank of Sergeant and served in the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance. In September 1916 he was sent to hospital with Malaria which developed into Chronic Nephritis. A medical report in his service record provides a history of his ill-health. In 1896 Davinet had malaria and dysentry while on service in West Africa. He also had dengue and a slow continued fever in 1896 while serving in Sudan. Ever since 1896 he had recurrent attacks of malaria in the winter. In August 1916 he had another bout of malaria but did not go off duty, instead he went into the trenches and ignored pain and other symptoms.
Due to his illness Charles returned Australia in May 1917 and continued serving training soldiers at Mitcham camp. However, he remained home for only a few months before embarking again on 29th October 1917. He disembarked at Suez and spent the remainder of the war with the 3rd Light Horse in the Middle Est
Tragically he never made it back. On May 31st 1919, at the age of 46, he died of Dysphagia, an illness that killed him while he was still out at sea . He died away from his homeland and his family. Due to the fact he was far away from home he was buried at sea with no known grave. He is commemorated at the Chatby Memorial in Alexandra, Egypt with the phrase “Known Unto God”.
Commemoration
Memorials:
Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Chatby Memorial, Alexandria, Egypt, Mannum District Roll of Honor
The AIF project (no date) The AIF - Homepage. Available at: https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/index.html (Accessed: 02 August 2024).