BREALEY, Charles
| Service Number: | 3803 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 August 1915, Norseman, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Cherry Gardens, South Australia, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Died of Illness, Western Australia, Australia, 26 August 1919, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Wooroloo Cemetery, Western Australia Wooroloo Cemetery, Wooroloo, Western Australia, Australia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cherry Gardens Uniting Church WW1 Memorial Stained Glass Window, Cherry Gardens WW1 Memorial, Cherry Gardens WW1 Roll of Honour, Norseman District Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Norseman, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Dec 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, HMAT A31 Ajana | |
| 2 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1 | |
| 28 Aug 19165: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3803, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 3803 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Charles Brealey enlisted for the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) on the 2nd August, 1915, at Norseman in Western Australia. His Regimental number was 3803 and he joined the 4th Pioneer Battalion but was transferred to the 52nd Battalion when he was in North Africa. His father was J. B. Brealey and his mother, M. Brealey from Cherry Gardens. Charles was one month short of his 37th birthday when he enlisted and was a dark brown-haired, brown-eyed young man with a “fresh” complexion whose occupation was a miner. He was 5ft 11ins tall and weighed 149lbs. On his medical history it was noted that Charles had good eyesight and a vaccination scar on his left upper arm. He had a scar on the left side of his head from an axe cut and a faint scar on the centre of the left lumbar region. His teeth were in good condition. Charles’s religious denomination was Church of England.
Charles embarked late in 1915 for North Africa on the Gellong. Within 2 months he had contracted mumps. Once he had recovered he served around Tel-el-Kebir for 1 month but contracted influenza. He was admitted to a hospital in Abbassia but transferred to another hospital, this time in Heliopolis, until returning to his unit on 20 April, 1916, in Tel-el Kebir. He was transferred to the front line under the control of the BEF (British Expeditionary Forces) on 11th June 1916 and served along the front line for around 18 months. In November 1917 he had a “septic tooth socket” treated, shortly followed
by a “septic foot socket” and was hospitalized for about a month and half. He never returned to active service due to ongoing health issues and was diagnosed with tuberculosis in June 1918. He returned to Australia on 30th June and was subsequently discharged from the services but spent the next year in the Veterans Hospital in Wooroloo, Western Australia, until his death in August 1919 from tuberculosis. Charles prepared a will on 16th November 1915 bequeathing his estate in trust to his brother John William Brealey for sole use and benefit of his sister, Eleanor Ann. On the 3rd June, 1917, while in London he revised his will this time bequeathing his entire estate to another sister, Ellen M. Brealey, who was living in Cherry Gardens.
Charles is buried at the cemetery in Wooroloo, Western Australia. Church of England 153 5 153
https://www.cherrychatter.org.au/Fallen%20Heroes%20of%20Cherry%20Gardens.pdf
Biography
Returned to Australia 30 June 1918