S7444
CHALLEN, Richard Linton
| Service Number: | 3626 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 March 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Heathcote, Victoria, Australia, 16 May 1883 |
| Home Town: | Saddleworth, Clare and Gilbert Valleys, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Coach Painter |
| Died: | 6 January 1967, aged 83 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Dudley Park Cemetery, South Australia Section TAK, Path 18, Plot 0268 |
| Memorials: | Saddleworth Institute Roll of Honor WW1, Saddleworth Loyal Prince Alfred Lodge No 78 I.O.O.F. M.U. Roll of Honor, Saddleworth St. Aidans Church Roll of Honour, Saddleworth War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Mar 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 3626, 50th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Aug 1917: | Involvement Private, 3626, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Aug 1917: | Embarked Private, 3626, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne | |
| 15 Aug 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, 3626, 50th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Richard Linton Challen's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Kathleen Bambridge
Private RL Cullen 50th Battalion sounded the last post on the unveilling of the Saddleworth War memorial
Biography contributed by Paul Lemar
Richard was the son of Peter Robert CHALLEN & Florence Sharpe PEARSON and was born on the 16th of May 1883 at the Post and Telegraph Office in Heathcote, VIC.
His parents were married on the 16th of July 1870 in Christ Church, Geelong, VIC.
His father was the son of Charles CHALLEN & Jane MERRETT and was born on the 8th of October 1847 in Lancashire, England.
His mother was the daughter of William Sharpe PEARSON & Elizabeth DOUGHERTY and was born in 1850 in Sydney, NSW.
Richard was the ninth child born into this family of 13 children.
His father had arrived in Pt Phillip Bay, Victoria on the 20th of October 1852 with his parents and siblings.
He had then entered the public service as messenger in the Postal Department at the age of 14 years.
He gradually rose in the service, passing through the electrical branch and was ardently devoted to electrical science and was regarded as an expert in that department.
He had then turned his attention to the telephone, the phonograph, microphone, telescope, X rays, and similar instruments.
The Torpedo Corps was established in 1873 to protect Melbourne and Port Philip Bay from enemy ships and his father was one of the very first people involved in its establishment.
The 'torpedoes' were in fact mines that could be detonated at a distance via electrical cables.
His father then constructed the first telephone ever seen in Victoria.
Richard was born with Hammer Toes on both feet, which made his feet quite deformed and he had a pronounced arch to his right foot.
When Richard was 4 years old his father was transferred to the Talbot Post Office and then in the late 1880’s his father was transferred to the Bairnsdale Post Office, so the family moved to Bairnsdale where Richard attended the Bairnsdale School and joined the Bairnsdale Rowing Club.
In May 1897 Richard met with an accident at Stratford.
He was riding bare backed and in turning a corner the pony went round rather sharp, with the result that he was thrown to the ground and he broke his arm in two places.
After completing his education, Richard gained employment as a Coach Painter and in the early 1900’s he moved to Saddleworth, South Australia where he began his own coach painting business.
Richard married Edith Amelia FRIEBE on the 8th of August 1909 in St Aidan’s Church, Saddleworth, SA.
Edith was the daughter of Carl Alfred FRIEBE & Anna Chistiane Pauline KLEM and was born on the 20th of June 1878 in Saddleworth, SA.
They made their first home in Saddleworth and welcomed Mavis Irene into the family on the 30th of March 1910.
Then little Eunice Anna was born on the 8th of August 1914, but sadly she died at the age of 4 months on the 14th of December 1914 and they buried her in the Saddleworth Cemetery.
With the outbreak of WW1 the men in the Challen family began to enlist for service.
On the 25th of June 1915 his eldest nephew; Leslie George Reginald CHALLEN enlisted into the AIF and served with the 48th Battalion (2857) and later received the MC (Military Cross) and became a Major.
His youngest brother Benjamin enlisted into the AIF on the 19th of October 1915 and served with the Dental Corps.
Then his eldest brother Robert applied to enlist into the AIF on the 25th of February 1916, but his enlistment never eventuated.
At the age of 33, Richard enlisted into the AIF on the 5th of April 1916 in Adelaide, SA and was allotted the service number 4510 and posted to D Company, 2nd Depot Battalion, in Mitcham Camp.
On Saturday the 8th of July a farewell social was held for Richard and 7 fellow soldiers in the Saddleworth Institute Hall and they were presented with an auto-strop razor, woollen comforts and knee and elbow pads.
On the 4th of August another brother; Oliver, enlisted into the AIF but was rejected due to painful corns.
Richard then suffered with his Hammer Toes and they caused him pain when marching so he was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 31st of August 1916.
The following day he re enlisted for Home Service and was posted to the Home Service Unit as an adjutant officer at the 2nd Depot Battalion with B & C Company.
Richard was discharged from the AIF as his service was no longer required, on the 19th of March 1917.
The following day Richard re enlisted into the AIF on the 20th of March 1917 in Adelaide, SA and was allotted the service number 3626 and posted to B Company, 2nd Depot Battalion, in Mitcham Camp.
After being transferred to the 43rd Battalion, 7th Reinforcements and then the 48th Battalion, 10th Reinforcements he was finally transferred to the 50th Battalion, 10th Reinforcements.
Richard embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Themistocles on the 4th of August 1917, disembarked in Glasgow on the 2nd of October and marched into the 13th Training Battalion in Codford.
He was hospitalised with Tonsillitis and then suffered with pain in his feet and was classified medically unfit for Active Service.
Richard embarked for Australia on the 6th of June 1918 on board HMAT Barambah and disembarked in Adelaide on the 31st of July and was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 15th of August 1918 and awarded the British War Medal.
He returned home to Saddleworth and on Saturday evening, the 14th of September, a welcome home social was held in the Saddleworth Institute Hall for Richard and another fellow soldier.
A guard of honour was formed by the Boy Scouts and Richard was presented with a medal.
Richard was a talented musician and could play the cornet, trumpet and drums, so he joined the Saddleworth Band and by 1920 had become the Secretary.
He also joined the Saddleworth Returned Soldiers Association (now RSL) and was very involved in the design of the Saddleworth War Memorial.
In March 1922 Richard played The Last Post for the unveiling of the Marrabel Soldiers Memorial and then on the 23rd of September he played The Last Post for the unveiling of the Saddleworth War memorial.
The following month he played The Last Post for the unveiling of the Riverton Foundation Stone of the Riverton Soldiers Memorial Hospital.
In 1924 he painted the inside and outside of the Rising Sun Hotel in Auburn.
They remained in Saddleworth until 1940 when they moved to 6 Third Avenue, Sefton Park and after a few years they moved to 84a Alice Street, Sefton Park.
Edith died on the 14th of January 1953 and Richard buried her in the Dudley Park Cemetery; Section TAK, Path 18, Plot 0268.
Richard died on the 6th of January 1967 and was buried in the Dudley Park Cemetery; Section TAK, Path 18, Plot 0268, with Edith.
Military
1st Enlistment
At the age of 33, Richard enlisted into the AIF on the 5th of April 1916 in Adelaide, SA and was allotted the service number 4510 and posted to D Company, 2nd Depot Battalion, in Mitcham Camp.
He listed his wife, of Saddleworth, as his next of kin.
Richard suffered with his Hammer Toes and they caused him pain when marching so he was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 31st of August 1916.
2nd Enlistment
Richard re enlisted for Home Service on the 1st of September 1916 and was posted to the Home Service Unit as an adjutant officer at the 2nd Depot Battalion with B & C Company.
Richard was discharged from the AIF as his service was no longer required, on the 19th of March 1917.
3rd Enlistment
Now aged 34, Richard re enlisted into the AIF on the 20th of March 1917 in Adelaide, SA and was allotted the service number 3626 and posted to B Company, 2nd Depot Battalion, in Mitcham Camp.
He listed his wife, of Saddleworth, as his next of kin.
On the 16th of April he was transferred to C Company and then on the 1st of May he was transferred to the 43rd Battalion, 7th Reinforcements.
Four weeks later he was transferred to the 48th Battalion, 10th Reinforcements for 4 weeks and then posted back to A Company.
Then on the 16th of July Richard was transferred to the 50th Battalion, 10th Reinforcements.
Richard embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Themistocles on the 4th of August 1917, disembarked in Glasgow on the 2nd of October and marched into the 13th Training Battalion in Codford.
On the 15th of November he suffered with Tonsillitis and was admitted into the Group Hospital in Codford.
Richard spent Christmas 1917 in hospital before he rejoined the 13th Training Battalion on the 5th of January 1918.
Five days later he was transferred to No.1 Command Depot in Sutton Veny and medically classified C1 (fit for home service only), due to his deformed feet.
He was then transferred to No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth on the 21st of January awaiting his return to Australia.
Richard embarked for Australia on the 6th of June 1918 on board HMAT Barambah and disembarked in Adelaide on the 31st of July.
Richard was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 15th of August 1918 and awarded the British War Medal.