SINCLAIR, Charles Robert
| Service Number: | 5182 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 October 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia, 14 August 1895 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Apprentice Coppersmith with Railways |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 July 1918, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5182, 3rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5182, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Makarini embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 1 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5182, 3rd Infantry Battalion, SS Makarini, Sydney | |
| 27 Apr 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 63rd Infantry Battalion, Transferred at Windmill Hill, England. | |
| 29 Sep 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 55th Infantry Battalion, Transferred back from 63rd Infantry Battalion. | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Involvement Private, 5182, 55th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5182 awm_unit: 55th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-07-04 |
Help us honour Charles Robert Sinclair's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Charles Robert Alexander SINCLAIR was born at Marrickville in Sydney on 14th August 1895. He joined the NSW Government Railways and Tramways as a shop boy in the Locomotive Branch based at Eveleigh on 4th December 1911. On 11th March 1912 he became an apprentice coppersmith, at less than half the rate of pay he was on as a shop boy. His record card indicates he was enrolled at Technical College, where the fee was 24 shillings, and a note dated 13 March 1914 indicates he passed. On 1st December 1913 he moved from a daily rate of pay to a weekly rate, at 20 shillings per week, but he remained classified as an apprentice coppersmith. He was still classified as such when he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces on 11th September 1915.
Officially, Charles joined the AIF on 5th October 1915. He was assigned to the 16th Reinforcements to the 3rd Infantry Battalion with the rank of Private (Service Number 5182). As his parents were already dead, he nominated his aunt, Mary Bushby of Marrickville, as his next of kin.
On 1 April 1916 he embarked for Egypt aboard HMAT ‘Makarini’ at Sydney and disembarked at Suez on 2nd May 1916. Initially he went to the 1st Training Battalion. On 20th May 1916 he re-allotted to the 14th Training Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir (Egypt) as Reinforcements to the 55th Infantry Battalion. On 24th June 1916 he embarked at Alexandria for France and disembarked at Marseilles on 29th June 1916. He was taken on strength of the 55th Infantry Battalion, which was then in the Fromelles sector of the front, on 15th August 1916.
On 10th December 1916, Charles was admitted to the 5th Field Ambulance with a case of trench feet. On 25th December 1916 he was transferred to the 36th Casualty Clearing Station from where he was sent on to the 3rd Stationary Hospital at Rouen on 26th December 1916. From there he was invalided to England on 5th January 1917 where he was admitted to the 2nd Southern General Hospital at Bristol on 6th January 1917. He was well enough to be discharged on 30th January 1917. After a period of furlough he returned to duty at the No. 1 Command Depot at Perham Downs on 15th February 1917. The next day he was transferred to No. 4 Command Depot at Wareham where he stayed until 13th March 1917. Then he marched out to No. 3 Command Depot at Hurdcott, arriving there on 14th March 1917.
On 27th April 1917 he was transferred from the 55th Infantry Battalion to the 63rd Infantry Battalion at Windmill Hill. On 29th September 1917 Charles marched out to join the 61st Draft Battalion (which was disbanded about a month later) but was immediately transferred back to the 55th Infantry Battalion, at Fovant. In mid-October 1917 he left England for France where reached the 5th Australian Division Base Depot at Le Havre on 15th October 1917. He left there the next day and re-joined the 55th Infantry Battalion on 26th October 1917.
He was then on duty with this battalion for over nine months.
On 4th July 1918 he was killed in action south of Morlancourt in France.
In fact, it was not until a Death List dated 17th October 1918 was received from the Germans via the Red Cross, together with his identity disc, that his death was confirmed. A deposition in his Red Cross Enquiry file witnessed in Berlin on 29th October 1919 stated:
‘The Australian soldier Sinclair, C.R. 5182, 55th Battn., fell on 4/7/18 about 2 kilometres north of Sailly Laurette.’
As the site of his grave is unknown, he is commemorated at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France. His place of association is Marrickville, Sydney, NSW.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.