WATSON, Herbert Charles
| Service Number: | 848 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grocer |
| Died: | 6 May 1960, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 848, 7th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 848, 7th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 848, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 848, 7th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 8 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 848, 7th Infantry Battalion, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli | |
| 27 Feb 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 7th Infantry Battalion | |
| 12 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Corporal, 2nd Machine Gun Company | |
| 22 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 2nd Machine Gun Company | |
| 31 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 21st Machine Gun Company | |
| 15 Apr 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 848, 21st Machine Gun Company , The Outpost Villages - German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line | |
| 11 Jun 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 21st Machine Gun Company | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 848, 21st Machine Gun Company , Broodseinde Ridge | |
| 1 Apr 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 1st Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 2 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 848, 1st Machine Gun Battalion , German Spring Offensive 1918 | |
| 16 Feb 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 848, 1st Machine Gun Battalion , RTA 28 October 1918 (special 1914 leave). Appointment terminated |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
AKA Hubert Charles Watson
Biography contributed by Larna Malone
Hubert Charles Watson, known as ‘Hubie’, was born in Bendigo, the son of William Keay Watson, of 79 View Street, Bendigo. ‘Hubie’ was a Grocer, with no previous military service. He was 19 years & 9 months old when he volunteered for the Expeditionary Force. He Enlisted on 21/8/14 and arrived at Broadmeadows Camp on 24/8/14. He was allotted Service no. 848 and appointed to ‘G’ Company, 7th Battalion. ‘Hubie’ was possibly in the Machine Gun section of the 7th Battalion.
The 7th Battalion left Broadmeadows Camp on 18 October, 1914, and embarked for service overseas on board HMAT ‘Hororata’. Arriving in Egypt the battalion moved into camp at Mena, at the foot of the pyramids (6/12/14). In January, 1915, the Australian force was re-organized. In the 7th Battalion ‘G’ and ‘H’ Companies joined to form the new ‘D’ Company. This meant that all the men from Northern Victoria were together in one Company.
The 7th Battalion was part of the force which landed at Anzac Cove on 25th April, 1915. Hubert Charles Watson remained on machine gun throughout the entire campaign, participating in the 2nd Battle of Krithia (May), the trenches in Steele’s Post (July) and Lone Pine (August).
The 7th Battalion was evacuated from the Gallipoli Peninsula during the night of 18/19th December, 1915. The men were divided into A, B, C, & Rear Parties. ‘A’ party began to leave the firing line at 5.15 p.m. on 18th. Hubert Charles Watson was in ‘C’ party. Their responsibility was to move from loophole to loophole maintaining a normal level of fire. The 7th Battalion had been ordered to select the ‘fittest and most alert men for C party, which included no. 27 and no. 29 machine guns and crews. At 2 a.m. on 19th the men of ‘C’ party began to move off. Hubert Charles Watson was one of three men who manned the machine gun until 2.20 a.m. They carried the gun and the belt boxes with them when they left.
The 7th Battalion was evacuated to Lemnos before returning to Egypt for re-organization and the creation of new subsidiary units. Hubert Charles Watson was promoted Corporal (27/2/16) and then Acting Sergeant (28/2/16) before transferring to 2nd Bde Machine Gun Company (12/3/16) and promotion to Sergeant (22/3/16). He went on to serve on the Western Front. He was promoted 2nd Lieut (31/1/17). He transferred to 1st Division Machine Gun Company and was TOS 21st MGC (designation changed to 1st Machine Gun Battalion on 1/4/18) On 11/6/17 he was Promoted Lieutenant and in 1918 was Seconded for duty with the Machine Gun Training Depot, Grantham, England (11/6/18). He RTA on 20/10/18, Special 1914 Leave.
“The First Lot. 7th Battalion. The first men of the Bendigo district to volunteer for service in the First World War.”: Larna Malone
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