Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles was the son of Thomas KEY & Jane BERRY and was born on the 27th of December 1858 in Wellington, New Zealand.
Charles was the youngest child born into this family of 11 children.
As soon as Charles was old enough he joined the Mounted Constabulary of the Dominion which, from the time of the Maori War, had always been recognised as of considerable weight as a fighting force.
Not long after young Charles’s admission to the police, a rebellion took place among certain of the Maoris, who were not satisfied with British rule.
It fell to Charles’s company to take part in the suppression of the mutineers. It was risky business, but it was one in which Charles never faltered, and it was not a great while before a state of quiet reigned and the authors of the trouble were suppressed for all time.


Later in 1884 Charles chanced to be in Sydney when the New South Wales Government decided upon sending a contingent to the Sudan and he was one of the first to offer his services.
He was accepted and allotted the Regimental number: 500.
The contingent, an infantry Battalion of 522 men and 24 officers, and an artillery battery of 212 men, was ready to sail on the 3rd of March 1885.
They left Sydney amid much public fanfare, generated in part by the holiday declared to farewell the troops. The send-off was described as the most festive occasion in the colony's history.
They anchored at Suakin, Sudan's Red Sea port, on the 29th of March 1885 and were attached to a brigade composed of Scots, Grenadiers, and Coldstream Guards.
Charles served through the whole of the campaign in which the famous New South Wales Contingent was engaged.
They sailed for home on the 17th of May 1885 on board the SS Arab.
They arrived in Sydney on the 19th of June and as they were expecting to land at Port Jackson they were surprised to disembark at the quarantine station on North Head near Manly as a precaution against disease.
One soldier died of typhoid here before the contingent was released.

With the outbreak of the Boer War Charles then enlisted into the 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, D Squadron and was allotted the Regimental number: 329.
He embarked at Sydney on the transport Southern Cross on the 17th of January 1900 and disembarked at Cape Town, South Africa, on the 19th of February.

On the 27th of September 1900 Charles was invalided to England with appendicitis which later ruptured.
He was then granted furlough until the 21st of February 1901 and then received his discharge as it was felt he was not equal to another bout of active service.

However, being anxious to see his business through to the end, Charles succeeded in enlisting into the 2nd Scottish Horse on the 20th of September 1901 and was allotted the Regimental number: 39715. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Horse

Charles returned to South Africa with the 2nd Scottish Horse and they operated in the Eastern Transvaal in the column of Colonel Mackenzie.

He was discharged from the 2nd Scottish Horse on the 7th of July 1902 due to the disbandment of the Regiment.

When the call for men came for WW1 Charles was among the first to hasten to Morphettville, but his string of ribbons and a perusal of his discharges (which were the best) tended to his undoing, and he was "turned down" on account of his age.
Then came the request for men, possessed of the knowledge of horses, for the Remount Service.
This was not a chance to be missed and once more Charles offered his services.
Now, aged 57, Charles successfully enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 22nd of September 1915 in Adelaide and allotted the service number 663 and posted to the newly raised 1st Remount Unit, 3rd Squadron, in Marybyrnong Camp, VIC.
On his attestation paper Charles stated that he was 49 years old, however he was 57 years old.

Charles was discharged, due to the disbandment of his unit, from the AIF on the 16th of June 1916.
The following day Charles re enlisted into the AMF for Home Service on the 17th of June 1916 in Torrens Island Camp.
He was considered as fit for Home Service but then only served for a few weeks and was discharged at his own request on the 15th of July 1916.

In March 1920 Charles became ill and was admitted into the Jamestown Hospital.
Charles died in the Jamestown Hospital on Wednesday the 2nd of March 1921 after a protracted illness.

Sudan
(New South Wales Contingent) March-June 1885 - Regimental number: 500

Boer War
1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles - D Squadron - Regimental number: 329

Natal Field Artillery
Charles enlisted into the Natal Field Artillery, as a gunner, in January 1906.
https://www.bwm.org.au/units/Natal_Field_Artillery.php

Charles was discharged from service and awarded the Natal 1906 Medal with the 1906 clasp.

WW1 - 1st enlistment
1st Remount Unit, 3rd Squadron – Service number: 663
15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.\

WW1 – AMF - 2nd enlistment
At the age of 58, Charles re enlisted into the AMF for Home Service on the 17th of June 1916 in Torrens Island Camp.