Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles Evans was the last of the three Evans brothers to enlist, albeit only ten days after his younger brother Robert (see above). At the time of his enlistment in Townsville on 25th October 1915, Charles gave his address as Lake St, Cairns, and his next of kin as Elizabeth Harris of Logan Road, Mt Gravatt. At enlistment, Charles was 25 years old and gave his occupation as labourer.

Charles would have travelled from Townsville to Brisbane by sea and reported to Enoggera Camp where he was originally drafted as a reinforcement for the 31st Battalion, which was being raised in Egypt. Charles arrived in Suez on the “Demonthenese” on 31st January 1916.

In spite of being slated for the 31st Battalion, while in camp at Tel-El-Kabir, Charles was transferred into the 47th Battalion on the 9th March.

The 47th Battalion had been created by splitting the Gallipoli veterans of the 15th Battalion, with numbers in both new battalions being made up from reinforcements like Charles. It is strongly suggested by a number of historians, including the author of the 47th Battalion history “Battle Scarred” that the quality of the officers and senior NCOs assigned to the 47th was poor. This lack of leadership led to the 47th gaining a reputation as an ill-disciplined unit. This ill discipline is illustrated by an incident in Egypt when the Prince of Wales came to inspect the battalion. Instead of giving the usual three cheers for the heir to the throne, the men of the 47th broke ranks, surrounded the prince, and proceeded to “count him out” like a boxing referee. The prince by his own account was quite shaken by the incident.

It was also reported that the ranks of the 47th, one of the last battalions to be fully up to strength, were swelled by men being discharged from hospitals, VD wards and even military prisons. One commentator described the battalion as a “lot of toffs, street wasters and loafers.”

Ill discipline was not just confined to the ranks. While the battalion was being shipped from Egypt to France, several officers became paralytic on alcohol which they had purchased on credit while at sea. The battalion would continue to be dogged by command and discipline issues for most of its existence.

From the chronology of his medical records, it would appear that Charles missed most of the above unsavoury incidents. He spent a period of time in hospital in Egypt with mumps, by which time the bulk of the unit had already departed for France. A bout of bronchitis resulted in another period of hospitalisation in France and it was not until17th October 1916 that Charles was taken on strength by the 47th.

The 47th would see action on the Somme at Guedecourt, and Bullecourt during the early winter of 1916/17 before being sent to Flanders to rest. The summer of 1917 saw the British swing the offensive from the Somme to Belgium. Charles and the 47th were in the first line at Messines on the 7th of June 1917.

The battalion acquitted itself well during the attack, with 22 Military Medals being awarded to men in the 47th. When the battalion finally came out of the line into a rest area, Charles was promoted to lance corporal. The battalion history records that while in the rest camp, the Chaplain, Captain Ward, addressed the man on parade about the dangers of venereal disease and the desirability of refraining from sexual relations. In spite of this warning, one month later Charles was in hospital with a dose of VD. He spent a total of 57 days being treated and lost pay for that period. On 28th November 1917, Charles reverted to the ranks at his own request.

The Australian divisions wintered in Flanders during 1917/18 with little action due to the sodden ground in and around Ypres. When the Germans launched their spring offensive; Operation Michael, in March 1918; the British 5th Army on the Somme began a hurried withdrawal which had the potential to split the Anglo-French forces and perhaps lose the war. In an effort to stem the German advance, Haig ordered the Australians back to the Somme.

The 47th battalion, as part of the 12th Brigade was rushed into the line at Dernacourt on the Ancre River. On the 5th April 1918, the 12th and 13th Brigades were in forward positions along a railway embankment just outside the town. German storm troops comprising almost two divisions rushed the defenders and eventually broke through by using a railway underpass and a sunken road to get behind the forward positions of the 47th’s A and B companies. Charles Evans was one of those who were on the embankment when the breakthrough occurred. Casualties were high and there was a total of 142 men missing in action. Charles was one of the missing.

For perhaps only the second time in the history of the AIF, the line had been broken. Later that day, a counterattack led by Colonel Ray Leane of the 48th Battalion regained the lost ground and forced the Germans back beyond the embankment. When stock was being taken of the cost of the day’s events, the troubled disciplinary history of the 47th led to some assertions that the men in the two forward companies may have surrendered too quickly or had been poorly led. A Court of Enquiry was convened to discover what had gone wrong. The commanding officer of the 47th was quick to defend his men but there were no witnesses from the two forward companies to shed any light on the matter.

A post card received at AIF Headquarters in London in July 1918 contained the scant information that #1777 Pte Charles Evans 47th Battalion was a Prisoner of War. He had been taken prisoner, along with the bulk of the 142 missing on the morning of 5th April.

The German advance towards Amiens was eventually halted at Villers Bretonneux on ANZAC Day 1918 by the Australian 3rd and 4th Divisions. From then on the Australians were in the ascendancy, defeating the Germans at Hamel in July, Amiens in August and Mont St. Quentin in October.

After the armistice, POWs were swiftly repatriated back to England. Charles arrived in London just ten days after the end of the war. No doubt he would have been interviewed regarding the circumstances of the breakthrough at Dernacourt. Charles returned to Melbourne on 18th January 1919; POWs being given priority passage home. He was discharged from the Army in Brisbane on 3rd May 1919.

The cloud hanging over the 47th Battalion from Dernacourt, as well as the casualties it had sustained hastened the demise of the unit. The situation was compounded even further when the result of the second conscription referendum became known, and it was obvious that Queensland would not be able to supply enough recruits to fill the vacancies in nominal Queensland regiments. Also, the Australian Government had ordered that all 1914 men (that is original ANZACS) still on active service would be repatriated back to Australia.

In May 1919, the 47th Battalion ceased to exist, with its remaining men distributed to other battalions in the brigade. The Commanding Officer of the Battalion; Lt Colonel Imlay was placed on the supernumerary list, perhaps as a result of his conflicting evidence at the Dernacourt enquiry.

There are no further records in the file of Charles Evans after his discharge. He may; as did many returning soldiers, have slipped back into his former life. It would appear that he did not ever apply for a military pension in old age, nor seek medical treatment under the Repatriation Act, even though he may well have had a genuine case.