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Australia

Danish-born Christian Viggo enlisted in the Australian Army during both World Wars of the 20th century. He was born on 10 August 1891 in Copenhagen, Denmark, his father was Julius Larsen. At some time he emigrated to Australia. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Townsville on 15 April 1916 joining the 9th Reinforcements of the 31st Battalion. He embarked on the ship Seang Choon on the 19th September 1916 leaving Brisbane bound for Plymouth, England. He undertook training in England until the end of February when he proceeded to France to join the 31st Battalion in the field. At the time the 31st Battalion was slightly behind the lines around Montauban-en-Picardie waiting to take over the front. Soon after, the Battalion occupied the front lines and participated in an active patrol program. We don’t know exactly what role that Larsen had in the 31st Battalion but it’s fair to say that he probably participated in the usual patrols into No-Man’s Land and numerous work parties when in the support and reserve trenches.
On 9 June 1917 he was admitted to hospital with trench fever returning to his unit three months later on the 17th of August. It appears that he wasn’t fully recovered as he was back in hospital in September and taken to a hospital in England in October that year. He didn’t return to France until 17 February 1918. This time he joined the 5th Australian Divisional Train as a ‘driver’. A divisional train was a logistics unit responsible for moving the stores and equipment of the division. As a driver, Larsen rode a team of between two to six horses pulling a wagon. These men worked behind the lines and didn’t fight in the trenches. Larsen may have been put there to help protect his health from the rigours of life in the trenches, but life in the divisional train was not easy. Working mainly at night, drivers and their teams of horses were always above ground and exposed to fire from enemy machine guns, artillery and aircraft. In June 1918, Larsen was back in hospital, this time with appendicitis. After time in hospital and a convalescent depot he was back in the Base Depot at Le Harve on 28 July, re-joining his unit on 16 August. At this time the 5th Divisional Train was moving supplies from railheads at Villers-Bretonneux to the fighting units. They advanced eastwards following the battles of the Australian Corps until the end of the War. Christian Larsen returned to Australia on 20 July 1919.
Twenty-one years later, Christian Larsen again answered his adopted country’s call and enlisted in the 2nd AIF at 48 years of age. He enlisted in Rockhampton, listed his occupation as ‘mail contractor’ and nominated his brother Edward as his next-of-kin. This time, probably due to his age, he served his time in Australia in Brisbane in a Tent Colouration Unit. These units were small groups of men who water-proofed tent canvas and painted it is camouflage patterns. Again, he suffered illness being admitted to hospital in January 1944 with osteo arthritis and neuritis. He was discharged from the army on 20 April 1944 on medical grounds.
After the War, he lived in the Gogango area west of Rockhampton. Unsurprisingly, his friends and locals gave him the nickname of “Digger”, which was a deserved honour for a man who had served Australia in both wars. He never married and found accommodation with a landowner called Hugo Moses and was active in the local RSL. Hugo was either German or had some German heritage and it caused people to wonder how he could befriend a German after fighting them in the First World War. After Hugo Moses died the new property owners allowed Larsen to remain in the small house that he rented on the property. When age caught up with Christian Larsen, he moved in with Betty and Eddie Dunphy at Gogango. Eddie died relatively early, and Betty allowed Larsen to remain in the house with her until he died in 1968 and is buried in Brisbane.

Sources: National Archives of Australia, Unit Commanders Diaries, Australian War Memorial, and correspondence with individuals from the rea where he lived.