BAKER, Charles William
| Service Number: | NX57716 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 July 1940, Paddington, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/12th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Wellington, New Zealand , 15 March 1917 |
| Home Town: | Redfern, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Mechanic |
| Died: | Presumed to be dead, Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, 20 February 1942, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Ambon Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Corporal, NX57716 | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, NX57716, 2nd/12th Field Ambulance, Paddington, NSW |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Mari Walker
Son of Valentine Henry and Mary Ellen Baker, of Enmore, New South Wales, Australia.
Cpl Charles William Baker was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He enlisted on 16 July 1940, having had previous service with the Militia with the 109th Battalion.
He was a member of the 2/12th Australian Field Ambulance which was part of Gull Force, and arrived in Ambon on 17 December 1941.
Gull Force consisted of 1131 Australian soldiers, Dutch and local native troops whose objective was to occupy Ambon Island and hinder the Japanese advance. After a number of short fierce battles, fighting on Ambon ceased on 2 February 1942. Many men were captured but those who had survived the battle for Laha (approximately 315 men) were later executed and buried in one of four mass graves.
Investigations after the war determined it was impossible to positively identify many of the remains found at Laha and these ‘war dead’ were declared “missing and for Official Purposes Presumed to be Dead, 20 February 1942”. The remains which were found were reinterred in the Ambon War Cemetery.
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