PARNELL, Charles Leonard
| Service Number: | 2054 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Singleton, New South Wales, Australia, 15 July 1888 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Train Guard |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 31 August 1918, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1915: | Involvement Private, 2054, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Aug 1915: | Embarked Private, 2054, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Runic, Sydney | |
| 31 Aug 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 2054, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2054 awm_unit: 18 Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1918-08-31 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Charles Leonard PARNELL,(Service Number 2054) was born on 15th July 1888 at Singleton. He was appointed temporarily as a porter in the Newcastle District on 16th April 1910 and transferred to the permanent staff on 12th August. In April 1912 he became a 3rd class shunter. Three months later he bcame a 2nd class shunter and on 7th May 1913 a Guard in the Goulburn District. He remained a guard for the rest of his career but moved to Sydney in July 1914; to Junee in November; and back to Sydney in December. It was from here that he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces on 9th August 1915.
He had already enlisted at Liverpool, perhaps a month earlier. His wife was Irene Nettie Myers. Her given address was the Miners Arms Hotel, Darby Street, Newcastle.
Parnell also claimed two years military experience in both the Scottish Rifles and the Australian Rifles. He was initially allotted to the 3rd Reinforcements to the 20th Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Runic’ at Sydney on 9th August 1915. By 29th September 1915 he had been transferred to the 19th Battalion and was at Gallipol. During his brief time in Egypt he waspromoted to Temporary Corporal and then Corporal in November. Parnell returned to Egypt in January 1916 and then embarked for France and the Western Front in March, passing through Marseilles on 25th March.
In June he was admitted to hospital with shell shock and evacuated to England. In September 1916 he had furlough but did not return to his unit at the front until April 1917. Within days he was gassed and after a series of transfers to hospitals and depots was not with his unit again until June. In August he was hospitalised again, now with syphilis. This took 50 days to clear. He was back in the field in October, only to become sick again in January 1918, now with scabies. In March 1918 he had leave in England and upon his return was promoted to be Acting Sergeant and then Sergeant.
Parnell was killed by a shell in the attack on Mont St Quentin on 31st August. There are several reports of the incident and they all agree. The shell which killed him fell in a trench in which he was temporarily established with his platoon. He was buried at the approximate reference Sheet 62c.-I.15.d. This location was marked with a cross and later described as an isolated grave, just North East of Halle, and 1¼ miles North West of Péronne. After the war, in accordance with a policy to relocate all isolated graves to within the nearest Military Cemetery, Parnell’s remains were exhumed and re-interred in the Péronne Communal Cemetery Extension.
based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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