TOGNELLA, Charles
| Service Number: | 5917 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 June 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Chiltern, Victoria, Australia , date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Graytown, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Woodcutter |
| Died: | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, 13 August 1968, cause of death not yet discovered, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Woden (Canberra) Public Cemetery, ACT H-EX-E-133 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5917, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 5917, 21st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' |
Charlie's legacy
I am proud to say I am one of Charlie's descendants.
My grandmother born Gladys Baker is Charlie's daughter, born in 1930 to Ethel Baker at Rockbarton Rutherglen Victoria where Charlie was working as a farmhand, Charlie and Ethel wanted to marry but were forbidden to as Charlie was illiterate which led to Grandma's conception it was thought if Ethel was pregnant they'd have to get married instead Ethel's dad forced Charlie to leave, Ethel went on to marry another man and have children who did not know grandma was their older half sister.
Grandma Gladys was raised as Ethels sister the immediate family knew the truth but kept it secret, my dad and my aunt weren't even told the truth until one of dad's cousins asked him if he knew the truth at the last funeral of that generation, Ethel's sister Dorothy.
I believe the truth was made known as I visited Aunt Dot a few weeks prior at the nursing home and a neighbour asked her how we were related and I said she was my grandmothers sister, Aunty Dot said I was incorrect but wouldn't reveal the truth as it wasn't her secret to tell, even though Charlie, Ethel and Grandma had all passed by that point.
So while all official records show Charlie as a bachelor with no children he was in fact father of Gladys who married Henry Macartney giving Charlie three grandchildren, my dad James and my aunties Glenda and Muriel, Muriel died from SIDS as a newborn.
Charlie has 9 great grandchildren.
Charlie is a great great grandfather of 12 and a great great great grandfather of two.
Submitted 21 May 2026 by Allison Fitzgerald