CHRISTIAN, Ernest Henry
| Service Number: | 6470 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 June 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Willenabrina, Warracknabela, Victoria , 30 January 1897 |
| Home Town: | Willenabrina, Yarriambiack, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Kenmare, Victoria, Australia, 24 January 1977, aged 79 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Kenmare Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Beulah Memorial Gates |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6470, 39th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6470, 39th Infantry Battalion | |
| 2 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 6470, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 6470, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 6470, 6th Infantry Battalion, GSW thigh - Ypres | |
| 24 Dec 1918: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 6470, 6th Infantry Battalion, embarked England for Fremantle on board HT Takada | |
| 4 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 6470, 6th Infantry Battalion | |
| 4 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 6470, 6th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Ernest Henry Christian (Service No:6470) enlisted in the AIF on 6 June 1916 (with two of his friends - Stan Thornton and Albert Holland - who had also attended a recruitment rally at Willenabrina Hall on 6 May 1916). Private Christian was attached to 6th Infantry Battalion when he embarked from Melbourne for Plymouth on 2 October 1916 on board HMAT A71 Nestor. WiA near Ypres (GSW thigh) on 9 October 1917, he was evacuated to England, and embarked for Fremantle on board Ht Takata on 24 December 1918. Private Christian was attached to 6th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 4 April 1919. Two siblings - John and Joseph - and son Owen served in WWII.
Ern was born in Willenabrina, Warracknabeal, Victoria in 1897, second of eight children of Henry Christian (b1862 at Gerang Gerung, Victoria) and Emma (Em) Landt (b1873 at Rupanyup, Victoria). Henry (a Farmer) and Em married in 1894 in Aubrey, Victoria and settled at Willenabrina where they raised their family and Henry was a Farmer.
Ern worked as a Farmer at Willenabrina prior to enlistment in the AIF, and in 1921 was granted farming land (just a few miles from his father's farm) under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act. In 1921 in Geelong, Ern married Margaret (Gertie) Gertrude Burnett (b1898 at Illabrook, Golden Plains, Victoria). Ern and Gertie settled at Rainbow and Kenmare where they raised their family and Ern was a Farmer. In 1952 Ern was seriously injured in a fall from a shed roof when helping with construction of a nephew's machinery shed. Although he broke his neck in the fall, he made a full recovery. Ern died in 1977 and Gertie in 1989.
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