Lance Corporal Charles Short

LANCE CORPORAL CHARLES SHORT

6061 – 1st Tunnelling Company

Charles Short was born in Ipswich, Queensland about 1874. In 1914 when war was declared he was the Mine Foreman for the Mt Morgan Gold Mining Company in Papua, New Guinea. In “My Story of the Great War” Oliver Woodward, who was mine operations manager for that company, reveals that Charlie Short was there to farewell him on August 17, 1914 when he sailed from Port Moresby to Queensland after being recalled back to the Mt Morgan office.

Because Charles’ address is given as the same as his father, William Short who was residing at Pialba, near Maryborough, Qld, it is likely that Charles also returned to the Mt Morgan Company for he enlisted at Rockhampton on May 18, 1916. At 41½ years of age with experience in mining he was the ideal recruit required for reinforcements to the Tunnelling Companies.

Five days later he was sent for six weeks basic training at the 11 Depot Training Battalion after passing his medical examination which shows him to be 183cms in height (6 ft), weighing 85kgs (13st 5 lbs), possessing good vision and bearing a scar on his right ankle, left foot and inside right leg. He had a dark complexion, black hair and yellowish eyes and his faith was Church of England.

Charles was then transferred to the Mining Corps camp for more specialised training and then to the Seymour camp in Victoria on September 9, 1916 prior to the reinforcements leaving for overseas service. He was assigned the regimental number 6061 and the rank of Sapper.

The reinforcements set off on the troopship HMAT A38 (S.S.) Ulysses that departed from Melbourne on October 25, 1916. Their journey went via Durban, Cape Town and Sierra Leone before docking at Plymouth, England on December 28, 1916. There the troops detrained to Tidworth and remained at the training camp until January 26, 1917 when they departed via Folkstone for France. The men marched in to the Australian General Base Depot in France and Sapper Short was attached to the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion.

On March 5, 1917 Sapper C. Short was sent to hospital suffering from mumps and after twenty-one days returned to duty. He was transferred to the 1st Tunnelling Company from the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion on April 14th.

Around this time early in 1917 Sapper Short marched into the wintry camp of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company in the Ypres Salient as one of a detachment of reinforcements. There a chance meeting took place between three men who last saw each other in tropical Port Moresby. Charles Short, met his former operations manager of the Mt Morgan Gold Mining Company, Captain Oliver Woodward and Sergeant William Scott owner of the Mt Diamond Mine, near Port Moresby and they unexpectedly renewed their friendships during that brief unplanned reunion.

From June 9, to September 10, 1917 he was in and out of hospital many times. A promotion to Lance Corporal was granted on January 14, 1918. He was sent to the 1st A. Field Ambulance and admitted on January 25 but was transferred on February 2nd to 2 A. Casualty Clearing Station. Two days later he was charged with a Crime for failure to comply with an order given by his superior officer and was reprimanded by Lt-Colonel J.R. McKinnon, O.C.

He spent 69 days in the 39th GeneralHospital in treatment for a locally acquired condition returning to the 1st Tunnelling Company on April 27, 1918.

Seven days before the Armistice on November 4th he was wounded in action receiving a gunshot wound to his left leg. On Armistice Day he was transferred to England on the hospital ship Gloster Castle and admitted to Reading War Hospital. His father was notified on November 26th of his wounding and the next day of admittance to the War Hospital. Following treatment for his wound he was admitted to the 1st A.D.Hospital, Bulford on November 21st and spent 95 days recovering there.

He was discharged from the Bulford hospital and marched in to the 1st Com. Depot on February 23, 1919. Moving on he was sent to Parkhouse camp on March 4th and a week later to Sutton Veny. During the next three months he worked between Parkhouse at No 2 Com Depot and Sutton Veny Depot.

L/Corporal Short returned to Australia on August 22, 1919 on the ship HMAT A68 Anchises. His father was notified of his return on September 10th and disembarkation was in the 2nd Military District on October 13th. He was discharged on November 28, 1919 in the 1st Military District.

After three and a half years abroad serving his country Lance Corporal Charles Short was awarded the Victory Medal (23676) and the British War Medal (24505).

A Statement of his War Service was sent on March 10, 1932.