CORPORAL CARLTON PARROTT
5597 - 1st Tunnelling Company
Born in 1893 at Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), the son of William and Harriet Rose (nee Rundle) Parrott, Carlton attended Bolton-Street Public School.
A Wharf Labourer by occupation, he completed and ‘Application to Enlist in the Australian Imperial Force on 17 April 1916 at Newcastle, NSW. He completed and signed the ‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’ the same day, naming as his Next-of-Kin his mother Mrs. Rose Parrott of 23 Newcomen Street, Newcastle, NSW. He also signed the Oath to ‘well and truly serve’ on that day.
A medical examination recorded that he was 22 years and 10 months of age. He was 5ft 3½ins and weighed 124 pounds. He had a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair and was of the Methodist faith. On 5 May 1916 he was appointed to the Tunnelling Reinforcements.
516 Tunnellers Reinforcements departed Melbourne, Victoria on October 25, 1916 at 1.30pm aboard the transport HMAT A38 Ulysses, Carlton Parrott being one of them. The Australian coastline disappeared from view on October 30, 1916 with the port of Durban reached at 11.30am on November 13, 1916. They felt the effects of the wind going around the Cape and arrived at Cape Town at 7am on November 19. Freetown in Sierra Leone was the next port of call where they arrived on 29 November. Their departure was delayed until December 14, 1916 as it was not safe to proceed further. Ulysses arrived at Plymouth, England on December 28, 1916, after 65 days at sea, with the troops disembarking at 1.30pm and entraining for Tidworth.
5798 Sapper George Oxman, (later of the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company) recorded the voyage in his Diary:
Dec 5. It took 1½ hours to take 1000 men ashore for the afternoon. We have to pay 6d each for the loan of the punts. We were fastened with ropes with one punt to the other coming back, the rope broke and we were drifting out pretty quick but the tug boat soon had us back again. Not too clean of a place. The women stand in a stream and wet their clothes they are washing and place them on a flat stone and then belt into them with a flat piece of wood like a bat.
Dec 9. Had to get some coal and fresh water. The officers went ashore to buy some fruit to sell to us they wouldn’t let us buy off the natives so when they came back with the fruit - none of us would buy it off them.
Dec13. 29 Big boats in here now.
Dec 14. Left for England with four other transport auxiliary cruiser escorting us.
Dec 25. On the sea between Gibraltar and England it has been very foggy. We had roast pork for Christmas dinner and some baked scones. They were as hard as rock.
Dec 26. Very foggy torpedo boats came to escort us in the rest of the way. Got our kit bags out of the holds.
Dec 28. We had nothing to eat from 7.30am to 3.30pm. We had to buy some cakes during the last week on the boat. We held the Dead March on a roast they gave us (250 of us) for our dinner. We marched up to the top deck with it, all the rest of the men were watching us and laughing. We got roared up a bit after it but we didn’t care.
Got on the train at 4pm. Got to Perham Downs camp at 11pm. Nothing to eat from the military until 8 or 9 the next morning. Then we had two tablespoons of boiled salmon and spuds and a mug of tea. Mud from 1-6 inches deep.
At Perham Downs on 17 January 1917 he was charged with overstaying leave from 2400 hours on 8 January until 1700 hours on 16 January. He was awarded 8 days detention and forfeiture of 16 days pay.
Carlton proceeded overseas to France on 28 January 1917 and marched in to the Australian General Base Depot (AGBD) the next day. On 6 February he was attached to the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company (1ATC) as supernumery to strength.
On 24 February he reported sick and attended the 47th D.R.S. He was transferred to the 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station the same day and was then transferred by Ambulance Train 28 and admitted to the 7th Convalescent Depot at Boulogne on 26 February. On 28 February he was transferred to 51 General Hospital at Etaples.
Discharged from hospital on 17 March, he marched in to the AGBD at Etaples and proceeded to his unit, rejoining them in the field on 3 May.
On 14 January he again reported sick and was admitted to the 1st Australian Field Ambulance before being transferred to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station. He was transferred to the 39th General Hospital at Havre on 19 January.
Carlton was due his Blue Chevrons about this time. Each blue Service Chevron denoted one year’s service from 1 January 1915. A red Chevron denoted service before 31 December 1914.
On 15 February 1918 he was discharged from hospital to the AGBD at Rouelles and marched out to rejoin his unit on 20 February, rejoining them in the field on 22 February.
On 24 February he was charged with ‘Whilst on Active Service’ being improperly dressed on 13 January and was admonished by the C.O. of the unit.
Carlton was wounded in action (mustard gas) on 13 March 1918 and was admitted to the 8th Field Ambulance the same day with gas poisoning.
He was transferred to the 11th Casualty Clearing Station on 20 March and on 23 March he was transferred by Ambulance Train 11 to the 2nd Australian General Hospital at Boulogne where he was admitted on 24 March.
He was evacuated to England on 29 March on board Hospital Ship Cambria. On 30 March he was admitted to Horton County of London War Hospital at Epson. He was transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford on 19 April and on 1 May he was discharged to No.3 Command Depot, Hurdcott.
He marched out of Hurdcott on 29 June to the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge-Deverill and proceeded overseas to France on 18 July 1918, marching in to the AGBD at Rouelles on 19 July. He marched out to his unit on 21 July and rejoined 1ATC in the field on 24 July.
Carlton was taken on strength of 1ATC on 7 September 1918.
He proceeded on leave in France on 22 February 1919, rejoining his unit on 10 March.
On 3 April 1919 he marched out of 1ATC to begin his repatriation to Australia, marching in to the AGBD for a brief period before leaving France for England on 10 April. He marched in to No.1 Group at Longbridge-Deverill on 11 April. He left England on board HMAT A60 Aeneas on 31 May for return to Australia.
Carlton was a member of 1ATC from February 1917 until his return to Australia in May 1919. In that period he would have worked at Hill 60 in the preparations for the Battle of Messines Ridge. He also most likely worked on the digging of the Catacombs at Hill 63.
He may have been involved with the Easter Raid of April 1917 and the accidental explosion of 25 April 1917 which killed 10 members of his unit. He may have also been involved with operations on the Hindenberg Line in September 1918 when 20 members of 1 & 2ATCs where decorated. He may also have worked on the construction of the Hooge Crater dugouts.
Carlton disembarked in Melbourne, Victoria on 13 July 1919. Carlton Parrott was discharged from the A.I.F. on 21 August 1919 in Sydney. He was entitled to wear the British War medal and the Victory Medal.
Carlton married Bernice M. Collier at Wickham, NSW in 1920. Bernice died the same year.
In 1923 his mother Harriet died and his Next-of-Kin on his Army records was changed to his sister, now Mrs. Ivy Prince. Estranged from her husband, Harriet had been in a relationship with Laurist Wold since around 1897. The couple never married and she is recorded as Harriet R. Parrott in the Death Register.
Carlton married Doris Hilda Varley Date at Adamstown, NSW in 1923.
The Electoral Roll for 1930 records Carlton, Labourer, and Doris living at 374 King Street, Newcastle.
In December 1935 his military and medical records were provided to the Repatriation Commission, Sydney.
The Electoral Rolls for 1936 and 1943 records Carlton, Waterside Worker, and Doris living at 71 Albert Street, Wickham.
In December 1937 Carlton Parrott, 71 Albert Street, Wickham was appointed a Justice of the peace for New South Wales.
In August 1941 he nominated for election as Alderman on the Greater Newcastle Council.
The Electoral Roll for 1949 records Carlton, Waterside Worker, and Doris living at 71 Albert Street, Newcastle with Leslie William Parrott, Electrical Mechanic, living with them.
The Electoral Roll for 1954 records Carlton, Waterside Worker, and Doris living at 71 Albert Street, Newcastle with Neville Albert Parrott, Labourer, living with them. In 1958/1963 Carlton and Hilda are still at 71 Albert Street.
Carlton Parrott died on 10 July 1975 at 82 years of age. He was buried on 12 July at Sandgate Cemetery, Newcastle, Primitive-Methodist Portion, Section NW8, Lot 57.
The Electoral Roll for 1980 records Doris living at 71 Albert Street, Newcastle.
One of his brothers also served in WW1:
PRIVATE ALBERT WILLIAM PARROTT
1474 – 35th Infantry Battalion
In 1906 Albert married Margaret Levina Dawson at Wickham, NSW.
Albert enlisted at Newcastle on 15 January 1916. At 33 years and 5 months of age, the Labourer by trade named as his Next-of-Kin his wife Mrs Margaret Levina Parrott of Bunker road, Hamilton West, and allotted three-fifths of his pay for the support of his wife and children.
He embarked at Sydney on 12 May on board HMAT A24 Benalla. Following training in England he proceeded overseas to France on 21 November 1916.
On 18 January he reported sick and was admitted to the 9th Field Ambulance for laryngitis, being discharged to duty on 22 January.
On 23 January he was admitted to the 11th Field Ambulance with laryngitis and scabies. On 27 January he was transferred to Nth Casualty Clearing Station. On 6 February he was transferred to the 1st Convalescent Depot at Boulogne
Discharged from hospital, he marched in to the 3rd Australian Divisional Base Depot at Etaples on 11 February 1916. He was admitted to the 26th General Hospital at Etaples on 20 February and was invalided to England on 2 March 1917 where he was admitted to the Edmonton Military Hospital.
On 27 April he was transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital. He was discharged to No.2 Command Depot, Weymouth, on 25 June 1917. Albert left London on 22 July 1917 for return to Australia due to arteriosclerosis due to chronic nephritis.
Albert was discharged from the A.I.F. in Sydney on 28 October 1917, entitled to wear the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
He was granted a pension of 30 shillings per fortnight from 24 October 1917. His wife Margaret also received a pension of 15 shillings per fortnight. Son Albert Frederick received 10 shillings per fortnight; daughter Alma Bessie 7 shillings and sixpence and daughter Lavina Ivy 5 shillings. These rates were reviewed in February 1918 and all pensions were doubled, back-dated to the original grant date of 24 October 1917.
© Donna Baldey 2014
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