WATSON, Charles Young
| Service Numbers: | 731, QX17783 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 January 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer Class 2 |
| Last Unit: | 12th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Townsville, Queensland, 29 January 1900 |
| Home Town: | Annerley, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Woodstock State School, Queensland |
| Occupation: | Stockman |
| Died: | Illness, Borneo, 6 March 1945, aged 45 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Labuan Memorial, Labuan, Malaysia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Sandakan Prisoner of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jan 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 731, 12th Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 731, 12th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 731, 12th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Suevic, Melbourne |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Warrant Officer Class 2, QX17783 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1940: | Enlisted | |
| 19 Sep 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Warrant Officer Class 2, QX17783 | |
| 6 Mar 1945: | Discharged |
Help us honour Charles Young Watson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
Served during WW1 - discharged from the 1st AIF 30 November 1919 (total service 2 years 316 days). Served in the 31st Battalion of the AMF from 1930 to 30 June 1938. Member of the Australian Contingent at the Coronation of King George VI in 1937. Discharged from the AMF 30 June 1938 and Enlisted in the AIF 1 July 1938 with service number QX17783. Embarked for Malaya 2 February 1941 with the rank of Warrant Officer II where he became a POW following the invasion by Japanese forces
WO2 Watson QX17783 was one of over 2000 Allied prisoners of war (POW) held in the Sandakan POW camp in north Borneo having been transferred there from Singapore as part of B Force. The 1494 POWs that made up B Force were transported from Changi on 7 July 1942 on board the tramp ship Ubi Maru, arriving in Sandakan Harbour on 18 July 1942. He is commemorated on Panel 20 of the Labuan Memorial
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