Dale, Charles Henry

56308 Gunner Charles Henry Dale - 1st Field Artillery Brigade AIF

Charles Henry Dale was born on the 13th July 1897 to William and Clara Dale and was one of eight siblings born into the family.

The family lived in Fremantle to circa 1910 then moved to Perth and then south to Bunbury and Donnybrook. Charlie had served in the 89C Cadets in the Bunbury Region

On the 19th April 1918 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 9 inches tall;

Weight - 159lbs;

Chest Measurement - 35-39 inches;

Complexion - Fair;

Eyes - Blue;

Hair - Light Brown.

Upon his successful enlistment Charlie was assigned to Blackboy Hill Camp and sent to the 2nd Western Reinforcements. He trained with this group in WA for the next few months.

Their embarkation orders soon came through and the men were entrained for Albany. On the 29th July 1918 the men boarded the transport ship HMAT Marathon and then set sail for England, disembarking in London on the 27th September 1918.

Charlie was sent to the 1st Training Battalion at Fovant Camp as he was going to be assigned to the 11th Battalion however on the 5th October 1918 Charlie was transferred to the Artillery Camp at Heytesbury.

The Armistice was signed while Charlie was still in England but later in November 1918 he was set to France and joined the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. The Australians were now being sent to the areas of France and Belgium that had been under German occupation.

Charlie served with the 1st Field Artillery Brigade until the 28th March 1919. He was then evacuated sick and was evacuated to hospital in Boulogne. Charlie was diagnosed as suffering from venereal disease and was in hospital in France till the 2nd May 1919. He was then transferred to England.

On arrival Charlie was sent to the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital at Bulford. He remained there under treatment till the 30th June 1919.

On the 3rd September 1919 Charlie boarded the transport ship Barambah and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 17th October 1919.

Charlie was discharged from the AIF on the 12th November 1919.

He then returned home and on the 20th September 1922 married Eva Ann Wood in Donnybrook WA.

A daughter Noreen was born in Fremantle in February 1923 and a son Keith in 1926.

In 1925 the family were living at 38 Walker street South Fremantle and Charlie was working as a wood merchant. The family lived here till 1931 and then moved to 102 Watkins street South Fremantle.

Cahrlie's wife Eva died in Fremantle on the 8th April 1940.

Charles then remarried in 1943 to Flora Evans and they were living at 94 Watkins Street White Gum Valley.

Charlie died in White Gum Valley on the 7th February 1947 aged 49. He was buried in Fremantle Cemetery plot Seventh Day Adventist Mon 0313.

(Photo courtesy of the Dale family)