Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Cyril CHARGE was born on 5th October 1895 in Richmond, Victoria, Australia to parents Henry Barkley and Alice Mary Ann (née KENDALL) CHARGE.  Cyril married Agnes Amelia BARLOW in Woollahra NSW on 27th February 1913, and they had two children, Leslie and Margaret. 

A 23 year old tram conductor living at 49 Raglan Street Waterloo at the time, Cyril enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Liverpool, on 25th May 1915.  He was enlisted as a Private with the regimental number 455, and allocated to "A" Company of the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion.  After completing his recruit training at Liverpool, Cyril embarked with his Unit aboard the troopship HMAT Berrima in Sydney on 25th June 1915, for active service overseas. 

Upon arrival in Mustapha, Alexandria, Egypt he was taken on strength as the 20th Battalion storeman at their Kit Stores, on 16th August 1915.  Three months later, Cyril was charged with "Improper conduct in the ranks", for which he was found guilty at a General Court Martial, and sentenced to serve 168 hours in detention.  From the 1st December, he was taken on strength at the Overseas Base, Ghezireh, Cairo and shortly after admitted to hospital there with a hernia. 

On 27th March 1916, Cyril embarked at Alexandria as part of the British Expeditionary Force, arriving in Marseilles, France, on 3rd April.  Ten days later, he rejoined 20th Infantry Battalion in France, and was involved in the fighting, until being evacuated to the 1st Australian General Hospital in Rouen with hydrocele (swelling of the scrotum), on 18th July 1916.

On 14th September 1916, Cyril rejoined 20th Battalion in Belgium. Three months later, he again found himself before a General Court Martial in the field, this time for being absent without leave for a period of 4 days, for which he was found guilty and sentenced to 60 days of  field punishment number 2 (general labour in camp, without restraints).  Upon completing his punishment, Cyril spent most of the first 4 months of 1917 in hospital, with venereal disease, chafing crutch, trench fever, and another bout of hydrocele.  On 12th April 1917, he was discharged from the 6th General Hospital, Rouen, to the 2nd Convalescent Depot, in the same French town. 

On 1st August 1917, Cyril rejoined his Unit in the field.  But following a period of leave in England 2 months later, he again went AWL, for a period of 2 weeks. On 9th November 1917, he was sentenced to 28 days of field punishment number 2.  He'd barely completed that sentence when he again went AWL, from 31st December 1917 until 18th January 1918.  This was after he'd been warned that his Company was about to proceed to the front line.  On 19th January, a General Court Martial sentenced Cyril to 5 years penal servitude, commuted to 2 years with hard labour.  He was held in the Field Punishment Compound in Belgium, before being admitted to Number 4 Military Prison at Abancourt, in Northern France.  After only serving 3 months, his sentence was suspended, and he was released from prison, rejoining his Unit in France on 20th May 1918.  But only 9 days later, he again went AWL, resulting in him being returned to custody, and subsequently ordered to serve the unexpired term of his original prison sentence (1year and 245 days). 

On 28th October 1918, Cyril was again released from the Military Prison and the remainder of his sentence suspended, as he was entrained to rejoin his Unit at the front.  As the War ended the following month, he was attached to AIF Headquarters in London, before embarking on 11th May 1919 aboard HMAT Borda, for return to Australia.  On 14th August 1919, Cyril was discharged in the 2nd Military District Sydney, due to demobilisation.  He was initially denied the issue of his campaign medals, with his Service Record stamped "NOT ELIGIBLE FOR WAR MEDALS" (no doubt due to his record of poor discipline), but they were apparently later issued, as "War medals restored under the provisions of Army Order number 298/1920" is stamped above it.  He received the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. 

After the War, Cyril lived with his family at 229 Bourke Street Waterloo, and continued working as a tram conductor and driver, with the NSW Government Tramways.  In 1928, he became an Alderman with the Waterloo Municipal Council, serving until 1931.  He was also licensee of the Australian XI Hotel at Redfern in the 1940s.  Cyril died in Campsie, NSW, on 16th November 1963, aged 68, and was interred in the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, Matraville, Sydney. 

Compiled by Karan CAMPBELL-DAVIS from historical records kept by the National Archives of Australia, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria and NSW, and various newspaper articles on Trove.