Barnett, Charles
No.600 – L/Cpl Charles Barnett – 28th Battalion AIF
Charles Barnett was born in 1889 in Fremantle WA to Mark and Mary Barnett. He was one of four siblings, with Alex born in 1884; Maria in 1886 & Maud in 1890. The family lived in Bay Road and Charlie grew up and was educated in the Fremantle area. After leaving school Charlie took up work as a labourer and worked in the Perth and Fremantle region. In 1908/09 his parents died and his sisters soon married however Charlie remained single though it is thought that prior to the Great War he had a fiancé. Charlie was also a very good sportsman and played Australian Rules football for the Perth league team in 1910/11.
On the 6th March 1915 Charlie went to the Francis Street Drill Hall in Perth to enlist in the AIF. He was passed as fit for service with the medical examiner stating that Charlie was 5 feet 7 inches tall; weight of 150lbs; chest measurement of 34-36 inches; dark complexion; brown eyes and dark hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Upon his successful enlistment Charlie was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.12 Depot Training Company.
After a month in the depot Charlie was transferred to form part of “D” Company of the newly forming 28th Battalion AIF on the 16th April 1915. This battalion trained in WA for the next few months as they began their drill and shooting programme. It wasn’t until the end of June 1915 that the 28th Battalion received their orders to depart. They then packed up camp and entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the HMAT Ascanius. On the 29th June 1915 they set sail through Gage Roads and headed for Egypt.
Just over three weeks later Charlie and the 28th Battalion arrived in Egypt and after being disembarked were sent into the training camp. They would only be spending around four weeks in Egypt as on the 4th September 1915 the 28th Battalion boarded the HMT Ivernia in Alexandria Harbour and set sail for the Dardanelles. After reaching Anzac Cove a few days later the men were sent to the northern section of the Anzac battlefield where they held the line in territory that had just been captured in the August campaign.
Though the 28th Battalion took no part in any major actions during their time on Gallipoli, they had a steady stream of casualties from Turkish snipers, shells and sickness. However, Charlie served through the final months of the campaign with his unit and as a result of some good work he had been promoted to Lance Corporal during this time. Apart from their machine gun section which stayed to the final hours of the campaign, the 28th Battalion left Gallipoli at an earlier date and were sent to Mudros.
Charlie would spend the Christmas and New Year at Mudros but they finally received their orders to depart and on the 10th January 1916 the 28th Battalion arrived back in Alexandria. After refitting and getting the battalion back to its numerical strength, for the next two months they undertook more training and also held sections of the Suez Canal defensive line.
The Australian infantry divisions were now to be sent to the Western Front in France and they would soon be leaving Egypt. The 2nd Australian division were the first to leave and on the 16th March 1916 the 28th Battalion boarded a transport ship in Alexandria and set sail for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 21st March. After being disembarked Charlie and his battalion were marched through the city to the railway station where they boarded trains which took them to Northern France, eventually arriving in the Armentieres region. They were initially billeted here among the French villages and in early April Charlie would have his first experience of Western Front trench life in the Fleurbaix sector.
The 28th Battalion would remain at Fleurbaix for the next few months while they became accustomed to the activities of trench life such as doing fatigues, building trenches, repairing roads, carrying parties to the front line and patrolling No Man’s Land. While they did not participate in any major actions during this period there was a steady stream of casualties from German fire. On the 30th May 1916 Charlie was severely wounded when hit in the head by either a bullet or shrapnel.
He was evacuated to No.2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station but despite medical treatment the wound proved too severe to recover from and Charlie died the same day. He was buried at Bailleul Communal Cemetery in plot II.A.11.