Hallas, Carl Vilhelm
5859 Private Carl Vilhem Hallas - 27th Battalion AIF
Carl Vilhelm Hallas was born on the 17th March 1887 in Copenhagen Denmark to Harald and Mathilda Hallas. He was one of several siblings born into the family.
He was educated in Copenhagen and had his early years in Denmark. He soon embarked on travel as he had became a merchant sailor. He was in Argentina when he took a ship to Australia and in 1912 arrived in Bunbury WA. He soon found work for the WA Government Railways, having two years in Geraldton, the Goldfields one year and working on the Great Southern line for another year.
In 1915 he applied for naturalisation and was accepted as a citizen. In 1915-16 he was living at a boarding house at 8 Josephson Street Fremantle.
Carl enlisted in March 1916 but then deserted from camp, enlisted again in Fremantle on the 20th June 1916 and was passed as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording bis physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 7 inches tall;
Weight - 158lbs;
Chest Measurement - 36-38 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Blue;
hair - Fair.
Upon his successful enlistment, Carl was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.72 Training Depot. He had a few weeks here being taken through basic infantry training and was then assigned to the 5th Reinforcements to the 44th Battalion. He remained training with this group from the 20th June 1916 to the 5th September 1916. He was then transferred to the 16th Reinforcements to the 27th Battalion AIF.
The 27th Battalion was a South Australian unit but also took reinforcements from other states. He had around seven weeks training with this group in WA. On the 30th October 1916 this reinforcement group left Fremantle Harbour aboard the transport ship HMAT Port Melbourne and set sail for England, reaching Devonport Harbour on the 28th December 1916.
Carl and his group were then disembarked and were sent to the 7th Training Battalion at Rollestone Camp on the Salisbury Plains. He had the next six weeks in England training.
On the 8th February 1917 Carl was sent over to France and was initially taken into the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples. He only had a few days here and officially joined the 27th Battalion on the 12th February 1917. The 27th Battalion were then on the Somme battlefield near Flers and Delville Wood.
However in March 1917 the Germans began their withdrawal to their pre-prepared defensive position known as the Hindenburg Line. The Australian and British units followed up this withdrawal closely and several sharp actions were fought around the Outpost line villages. The 27th battalion were involved in the capture of Lagnicourt on 26th March 1917.
They remained in this sector for the next six weeks then saw action at the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May 1917. Carl came through both these actions unscathed. In June 1917, the 27th Battalion, as part of the 2nd Australian Division, were withdrawn from the line for a well deserved rest. They would spend the months of June to August 1917 away from the front line, undertaking training and sporting activities. On the 8th August 1917 Carl was detached for duty with the 7th infantry Brigade Headquarters.
On the 3rd September 1917 Carl fell ill and was sent to the 7th Field Ambulance. After initial treatment he was then sent on to the 58th General Hospital at St Omer. On the 15th September he was then transferred to No.7 Convalescent Camp. He remained here till the 30th October 1917 and was then sent to the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot. Carl then rejoined the 27th battalion on the 14th November 1917.
The 27th Battalion were then holding the line southeast of Ypres between Hollebeke and Messines and they would spend the 1917/18 winter in this sector. During early March 1918 Carl was given a two-week furlough to England.
As a result of the German Spring offensive on 21st March 1918 which broke through the British front line further south, the Australian Divisions were sent to the Somme sector to stop their advance. The 27th Battalion were sent to the Ville-sur-Ancre and Morlancourt sector north of the Somme River.
The Germans were stopped in this sector and the 27th Battalion remained here through April, May and June 1918, undertaking patrol work and being involved in action around Morlancourt. On the 14th May 1918, Carl was sent to hospital with scabies but only had a few days away from his unit, rejoining them on the 20th May 1918.
The 27th Battalion then moved to the Villers-Bretonneux sector in July 1918. On the 27th July a German gas shell exploded close by to Carl. He inhaled some gas though fortunately was not hit by shrapnel. He was evacuated to the 6th Field Ambulance for initial treatment and then taken to the 49th Casualty Clearing Station. He spent a few days here and was then sent to the 2nd Stationary Hospital.
On the 10th August 1918 Carl had recovered enough to be sent to the Convalescent Camp. He remained here for another month and on the 12th September 1918 was transferred to the Australian Infantry Base Depot Camp at Le Havre. He then rejoined the 27th battalion on the 18th September 1918. His unit were in the drive on German positions on the Hindenburg Line and on the 3rd October 1918 were in action around the villages of Bony and Montbrehain.
During the attack, Carl was hit in the head by shrapnel. After treatment at the 6th Field Ambulance, he was taken to the 50th Casualty Clearing Station where further work was done on his wound. He was then put on an Ambulance train which took him to the 6th General Hospital at Rouen. After a few days here Carl was shipped to England where he was admitted to Exeter War Hospital.
Fortunately, the wound was not too severe, and Carl was released from hospital on the 7th November 1918 and was given a two-week furlough. While he was on leave the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918. On the 22nd November 1918 Carl was sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny.
On the 14th January 1919 Carl boarded the transport ship City of York and set sail for Australia, reaching Fremantle on the 18th February 1919.
Carl was discharged from the AIF on the 12th May 1919.
On his return from the war Carl resumed work with WAGR in Sandstone WA from and was there from 1919-1922. He then moved to Geraldton where he worked as a labourer.
In 1930 Carl was involved in a shooting incident near Geraldton. As stated in the Mt Barker Record newspaper;
Carl Hallas died in Geraldton on the 21st September 1960.