Pooley, Charles Leonard

6132 Private Charles Leonard Pooley - 16th Battalion AIF

Charles Leonard Pooley was born in Boulder City WA in 1899 to Leslie and Maude Pooley. He had an elder sister Eleanor born in 1898 and a younger brother Walter born in 1905.

He had his first few years in the Goldfields before the family moved to Fremantle, residing at 21 Howard Street (later renumbered 31 Howard).

Prior to the Great War Charlie was working as a farm hand.

On the 24th March 1916 in Fremantle Charlie enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force.

He was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 7 & 3/4 inches tall;

Weight - 119lbs;

Chest Measurement - 32-34 inches;

Complexion - Sallow;

Eyes - Dark Brown;

Hair - Light Brown.

After his successful enlistment Charlie was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.60 Training Depot. He was taken through the basics of infantry work at this depot camp and on the 4th August 1916 was assigned to the 19th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF.

Five days later Charles and his group entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Miltiades and set sail for England, arriving at Plymouth on the 23rd September 1916.

Charlie and his group were then disembarked and sent into the 4th Training Battalion. Charles spent the next few months training in England and on the 21st December 1916 headed for France. Upon arriving at Etaples he was sent to the 4th Australian Division Base Depot and spent another two weeks there.

On the 2nd January 1917 Charlie was taken on strength of the 16th Battalion. The unit was then situated on the Somme battlefield undergoing a very cold French winter. At this stage the front line was largely static but occasional attacks took place such as when the 16th Battalion participated in the capture of Stormy Trench in February 1917.

In March 1917 the Germans conducted a strategic withdrawal to a pre-prepared defensive position known as the Hindenburg Line. The Australian and British units pressed the Germans all the way and several sharp battles were fought.

The Germans pulled back to behind the wire of the Hindenburg Line and the 16^th Battalion, as part of the 4^th Brigade were tasked with breaking the line at Bullecourt and capturing the German positions. This assault finally went ahead on April 11^th 1917 with the assistance of tanks though with no artillery support. On the 4^th Brigade front, the 16^th & 13^th Battalion broke through the thick barbed wire and despite the heavy German fire managed to capture sections of the trenches. However due to their flanks being unsupported and the lack of supporting fire along with running out of ammunition, the survivors had a choice to remain and become prisoners of war or to make a dash back for their own lines.

The 16^th Battalion had very heavy casualties with only a handful of men making back to their own lines. It was reported through the German red cross that Charlie was captured, having been suffering from shell shock. He was thus taken prisoner of war.

It appears Charlie was then sent to Germany and interned at Limburg Prisoner of War Camp as he was able to send a postcard to the Red Cross in June 1917 stating he was at Limburg Camp hospital.

Charlie remained a Prisoner of War for the remainder of the war and after the German surrender in November 1918, he was repatriated to England, arriving there on the 6th December 1918.

Charlie was then granted a month's furlough, after which he was sent to No.2 Command Depot Camp to await being assigned a berth on a transport ship.

On the 19th April 1919 Charlie boarded the ship HT Marathon and set sail for home, arriving at Fremantle on the 31st May 1919.

After arriving back home, Charlie was sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle to be medically assessed. He was then discharged from the AIF on the 12th July 1919.

In 1922 in Leederville Charlie married Eileen Poppy Broderick and a daughter Janet was born in 1922 and a son Leonard in 1924, Eileen in 1927 and Marie in 1930.

In the early 1920's the family were living at Sydney Street in Mt Hawthorn before moving to Seabrook Street Leederville. Leonard was working as a labourer during this time.

Charles lived the rest of his life in the Leederville and Mt Hawthorn area.

Charles died on the 7th May 1990 aged 90. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery