Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles Hunter was the second son born at Lucindale in the South East of SA on the 20th May 1920. His father, Arthur Hunter married widow Lucy Anne (nee Owen) in 1914 at Kingston. Lucy had three children from her first marriage, then she and Arthur had four children of their own Eric Francis, Charles Hunter, Violet and Ada. Their father, Arthur undertook a range of work for the local council, frequently tendering for labouring work, including as a wood cutter, which was conditional on the local council in ’35 assessing if the wood was useful or ornamental.
All the children attended the Lucindale School where Charles proved to be a successful student in his entries in the Lucindale Show. As a 9-year-old he was awarded first prize with the best sample of manual work. That year, his sister Violet also won for her entry of the best sample of a drawing book. Then in ’34 Charles received a prize in two categories, the best page of transcription writing in ink, and the best sample of woodwork. He also proved to be quite an athlete on the school’s sports day, excelling in the high Jump, novelty tyre race and hurdle race. As a 14-year-old, Charles again excelled in the sprints, sack race, high jump and the unusually named Jumping flying bag. That year, the Naracoorte Herald noted that ‘For the delectation of the elders, the Callendale cricketers played the local club whilst the sports, were in progress.’
Post school, Charlie found work as a farm hand. He was just 19 when his mother died unexpectedly on December 16th. The Naracoorte Herald reported that ‘Mrs. Lawrie was found in a condition of collapse on the evening of the 16th inst., and although medical aid was immediately sought and received, she succumbed within a short time after a seizure.’ Lucy was buried in the Lucindale Cemetery.
Soon after, with the outbreak of WWII, 20-year-old Charles, and 22-year-old older brother, Eric were early enlistees at Mount Gambier on the 10th July ’40. With the Depression making work difficult to find, the army provided the opportunity for regular pay. Charlie was given the number SX8497 and Eric the successive number SX8497 with both being allocated to the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. They and other new enlistees were initially housed in the Motor Pavilion of what is now the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds. Their ‘beds’ were straw filled hessian on wooden pallets. The young men were later given kitbags on which their names were stencilled.
The two brothers and their battalion then headed to Woodside in the Adelaide Hills for preliminary training. Returning home on pre-embarkation leave the new enlistees were farewelled with a civic afternoon, hosted by the Mayor of Narracoorte who expressed his appreciation to the guests in the task they had undertaken. Others from their battalion included Gordon Lennard SX6939, George Flavel SX7818 and Victor Atkins SX7814. The young men were provided with a sumptuous afternoon tea provided by the Cheer-Up Society, before each was presented with a parcel from the members.
(By January ’41 Eric and Charles’ cousin, Samuel Welsh also enlisted as SX11160 and was allocated to the same 2/48th Battalion as the brothers.)
The following month, the brothers then embarked on the Stratheden for the Middle East, in November, arriving on the 17th December. On the voyage over, Charlie went Absent Without Leave for six hours, resulting in a fine of 10/-. Once in the Middle East, the young men marched to a Staging Camp, but soon after arriving in Gaza, Charlie contracted dysentery and was evacuated to hospital for a week. During those early days in the Middle East, besides regular army duties was the need to quickly adapt to the locals as well as soon being involved in intense conflicts where the reputation of the 2/48th Battalion for being the most highly decorated but decimated battalion was earned. The brothers were to become one of the respected and famed Rats of Tobruk.
A series of incidents in December ’41 of being AWOL and poor conduct resulted in fines and being confined to barracks for 10 days. The start of 1942 was again marked by a series of offences, including two for being drunk, failing to obey orders and again being AWOL. Monetary fines and a total of 13 days confined to barracks, plus 28 days of field punishment followed. These were interspersed with an upper respiratory tract infection and pharyngitis. Charlie’s record was similar to Eric’s.
By August that year, Charlie undertook special duties as a Batman for over a month before he rejoined the 2/48th. It was a critical time of the conflict and within a month, Charlie wounded in action at the commencement of November ’42, with a gunshot wound to his foot, hand and thigh. The 2/48th was in Egypt, part of the fierce fighting undertaken by the Allieds to capture Trig 29. In his book, ‘Tobruk to Tarakan’, John Glenn describes ‘the 2/48th had stirred up a real hornets’ nest’ On that night alone 9 of the Battalion were killed and 20 wounded in action. Of these 16 were from South Australia and the remainder from Western Australia. the conditions where ‘arrangements were made for ‘mines, wire ammunition, food, water, overhead cover, sandbags, tools, anti-tank guns, and all the rest, and holding the present position while preparing to launch another attack. And while all this was being done, the battalion was subjected to murderous fire from artillery and mortars. It says much for the battle-drill of the battalion and supporting arms that everything worked out smoothly, going off without a hitch.
‘The suddenness of this attack when it came, and the devastation caused by the artillery fire, created tremendous confusion in the enemy lines, leaving them no option but to make every effort to locate out exact position and try to seal off the penetration. Patrols of both sides were active; a number of clashes occurred in No Man’s Land. In the early hours of the morning a strong enemy patrol, led by a German officer, approached the left flank of D Company; there they came under the fire of Pat Hoare’s Bren gun. The officer soon fell, whereupon the patrol withdrew, carrying their wounded.’
‘At last light on the same front some three hundred enemy troops attacked, and D Company area was swept by small arms fire. During the action Private Pat Hoare was killed and Lance-Corporal Henry Lohmann was so badly hit that he died soon after.’
The Chronicle reported on the full extent of the losses to the battalion. They included Killed In Action from the 2/48th Battalion.— SX8468 Pte. Patrick H. Hoare. North Broken Hill (NSW); SX13570 Pte. Charles Holman, Broken Hill; SX7771 Pte. Henry O. Lohmann, Murray Bridge; SX6848 Cpt. Alfred F. Meyer Renmark: SX3149 Col. Arthur H. Peters. Macclesfield; . SX11768 Pte. John R. Smith, Wardang Island; SX13535 Pte. Allan L. Thessinger, Jamestown. Died Of Wounds.— SX13162 Pte. Thomas B. Cosgrave, Macclesfield: SX7917 Pte. Leslie A. King, Adelaide. SX8497 Pte. C. H. Lawrie, Inf., Naracoorte was one of 37 listed as wounded.
Charlie then fractured one of the bones in his right hand. It was fortunate that his time in the Middle East was ending. He and Eric were able to return to Australia via Melbourne, arriving on the 25th February ’43. From there the brothers returned home on leave. However, by April, Charlie ‘absented himself without leave’ for six days, losing a week’s pay. Training in Queensland followed to prepare to fight a very different enemy in the tropical conditions of New Guinea. He arrived in Milne Bay in August ’43. Early the following year, Charlie contracted Malaria before his time in New Guinea concluded with a return to Australia via Brisbane in February ‘44.
By April ’44 Charlie (and Eric) again went AWOL and failed to attend parade received a loss of pay. His upper respiratory tract infection returned with Charlie then spending time in the Kapara Convalescent Home at Glenelg.
Charlie’s reaction on discharge was to again go AWOL with a warrant for his arrest being issued in June following several breaches of army orders. He served a week in detention, but the following month contracted a high fever (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin). The end of that year and commencement of ’45 found Charlie again going AWOL and being without a pass to leave camp. Fines and a five-day confined to Barracks order were imposed. Yet again, Eric’s service record was similar, before the two left Cairns for Morotai in April. Almost inevitably, ill health followed with an dyspepsia, then diabetic type symptoms occurring. At last, his war was over, returning to Australia via Sydney, then to Adelaide where he was discharged on the 3rd December. Eric had been discharged a week earlier on the 26th November ’45.
Charles married Patricia and the two had six children, Trevor, Janet, Beverley, Wendy, Bill and Terry. Sadly, tragedy struck the family with the death of their 14-year-old daughter Beverley, on the 14th July ’62.
Whilst brother Eric increasingly turned to alcohol and faced the inevitable court appearances, Charlie had just one appearance in March ’49 when driving his buckboard into Mount Gambier whilst drunk and had to be restrained from continuing to drive in that condition. He was fined a sobering £3 with 7/6 costs.
Charles and his sisters continued to be protective of their older brother, Eric, who had an early death aged 43 in April ’61. His plaque in the local Naracoorte Cemetery, was placed by the three siblings, Charlie, Violet and Ada. This death was soon followed by that of their 77-year-old father, who died two months later, on the 19th June and was buried in plot E649.
Charles’ wife Patricia, died on the 30th March ’83. Five months later, 62-year-old Charles died on the 25th August. Both are buried in the Naracoorte Cemetery, as is their 14-year-old daughter, Beverley.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133 2/48th Battalion.