PONTON, Charles John
| Service Number: | 335 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 January 1915, Brisbane, Qld. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Brisbane, Qld., 23 December 1896 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gravatt, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith |
| Died: | 16 March 1978, aged 81 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Holland Park Mount Gravatt Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 335, 11th Light Horse Regiment, Brisbane, Qld. | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 335, 11th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 335, 11th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Borda, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Ian Lang
Son of John PONTON and Annie nee HOMANN
Charles Ponton was 18 years and one month old when he enlisted on 5th January 1915. He reported that he was a blacksmith and he lived with his mother at Mount Gravatt.
Charles was drafted into the 4th Light Horse and sailed on the “Bordia” from Brisbane on 2nd June 1915. Upon arrival in Egypt in August he was transferred to the 5th Light Horse and was posted to Gallipoli as part of the reinforcements for the August offensives.
On 3rd October, Charles was evacuated with an original diagnosis of diarrhoea but given that he spent the next five months in the Brook Military Hospital in Woolich, was more likely dysentery. Charles would spend a further six months in various depots in England before being transferred to the 49th Infantry Battalion. He was taken on strength by the 49th in November 1916.
On the opening day of the battle of Messines in Flanders in June 1917, Charles received gunshot wounds to the chest and shoulder. He spent two months in military hospitals in Lewisham and Dartford before being posted to a convalescent depot in September 1917.
His wounds were considered so extensive that he was returned to Australia on 19th October and was discharged as medically unfit in Brisbane on 18th January 1918. Charles was granted a pension of three pounds a fortnight. He applied for repatriation benefits in 1962 and applied for the Gallipoli medallion in 1967.