EMMERTON, Charles Burns
| Service Number: | VX1720 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 December 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Forest, Tasmania, Australia, 26 October 1908 |
| Home Town: | Richmond (V), Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Illness, Durban, South Africa, 13 May 1942, aged 33 years |
| Cemetery: |
Durban (Stellawood) Cemetery, South Africa |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, VX1720 | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Dec 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX1720, 2nd/8th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Anthony Vine
PRIVATE CHARLES BURNS EMMERTON VX1720 2/8TH BN 2/AIF
Charles Emmerton was born in Forrest Tasmania on the 28th of October 1908, the second of three boys born to James and Ellen Emmerton. A Labourer, he was a single man, living with his parents in Richmond Victoria when he enlisted in the AIF on the 8th of December 1939 as a member of the 8th Battalion.
In March 1940, Charles was convicted of being absent without leave and confined to barracks for seven days. This would be the first of at least 15 offences Charles would commit and be convicted of over the next 24 months. He embarked for Greece in mid-March 1941 when the 8th Battalion was committed to the disastrous Greece Campaign. In early April he was convicted of being AWL, receiving 28 Days detention and had to pay restitution of £21 for losing his rifle and equipment. Before he could serve his sentence, he was evacuated to Egypt with Epididymitus, or swelling of the testicles, and he would remain under medical care until July.
In November Charles was Court Martialled, and the army had decided that it had enough of him, and he was sentenced to be returned to Australia, Services No Longer Required (SNLR). He was transferred to the Kantara Camp in Egypt to await transport to Australia, where he offended twice more. He final embarked for Australia on the SS Felix Roussell. With the entry of Japan into the war the ship was routed via South Africa, and on arriving in Durban on the 28th of April 1942 Charles was evacuated to the Addington Hospital with acute Colecystites.
His condition continued to deteriorate, and Private Charles Emmerton passed away in Durban on the 13th of May 1942. A Postmortem conducted on his body identified that he had multiple abscesses on his liver which were secondary to infected ulcers.
Charles was buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Plot of the Stellawood Cemetery in Durban on the 15th of May.
Sources: NAA B883, VX1720 EMMERTON CHARLES BURNS
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