Harris, Charles
2922 Private Charles Harris - 48th Battalion AIF
Charles Harris was born in 1888 in Hobart Tasmania.
After receiving his initial education in Hobart the family moved to New Zealand where Charles completed his schooling.
In 1911 he married Annie Tinker at Greymouth NZ, with a son Charles born in 1911 and a daughter Mildred in New Zealand in 1913.
The family then moved to Australia, settling in Fremantle in 1914. They moved to Victoria Road North Fremantle and also lived in Frederick Street in 1916. (Renamed Hevron Street in 1923). Charlie was employed as a pile driver and was based out of the North Fremantle Town Hall in Victoria Avenue.
A son Charles was born in North Fremantle in 1917.
On the 23rd August 1916 Charlie enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Fremantle. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 8 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 159lbs;
Chest Measurement - 35-38 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Brown.
Upon his successful enlistment Charlie was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.87 Depot. He had a few days of being taken through the basics of infantry work and was then assigned to the 7th Reinforcements to the 48th Battalion AIF.
He trained with this group in WA for the next few months. On the 9th November 1916 Charlie and his group entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Argyllshire. The ship then set sail for England, arriving at Devonport Harbour on the 10th January 1917.
The men were then disembarked and sent to the 12th Training Battalion at Codford Camp on the Salisbury Plains.
Charlie got into trouble for using threatening language to a senior rank when he told Cpl Spedding, upon being given an order;
'You wait till tomorrow, I'll get our mob & give you a rough time'.
For this, Charlie was given 28 days of Field Punishment No.2. This involved hard labor, restraints, and extra duties.
During this time Charlie was still undergoing training and he had nor more slip ups. On the 28th March 1917 Charlie left England and proceeded to France where he was sent to the 4th Australian Division Base Depot camp at Etaples.
He had a few weeks in this camp and joined the 48th battalion on the 18th April 1917. The 48th Battalion had just come through the First Battle of Bullecourt and were low on numbers so Charlie and his fellow reinforcements were welcomed to bolster the numbers.
The 48th Battalion, as part of the 4th Division AIF were now sent to Belgium where they would take part in the Messines offensive. They did not take part in the first day of action on June 7th, but came into the line the following days around the German reserve line positions known as the Oostaverne Line.
The 48th battalion were in the Messines sector till the end of August 1917 and were then moved up to Ypres. Charlie and his unit saw action around Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Broodseinde Ridge and Passchendaele. Particularly on the 12th October 1917, the 48th Battalion sustained heavy casualties during an assault on Passchendaele. Charlie came through this action safely.
The 48th Battalion remained in this sector through to November 1917 and Charlie was promoted to Lance Corporal.
In December 1917, the 4th Australian Division was sent south to Peronne in France. They were here for a month but then returned to Belgium in January 1918. They were then used to help hold the front line south east of Ypres near Hollebeke.
On the 14th March 1918 Charlie wrote to his Company Commander wishing to revert back to being a Private. This request was granted.
On the 21st March 1918 the Germans launched their Spring Offensive which broke through the British lines further south. As a result the Australian Divisions were sent south to help stop this German advance. The 48th Battalion were sent to the sector around Albert and Dernancourt. In late March 1918 they came into contact with the Germans. Charlie survived the initial encounters safely. On April 5th 1918 the Germans launched another large assault on the Australian positions. They made some initial success but the Australians held firm.
The 48th Battalion then moved to the vicinity of Villers-Bretonneux from May 1918. They fought an action at Monument Wood on the 3rd may 1918 and would remain in this sector for the next few months and were in support positions when Hamel village was successfully captured on July 4th 1918.
On the 26th July 1918 Charlie was granted a two week furlough to England, returning on the 11th August 1918.
Charlie thus missed the opening day of the 8th August 1918 advance from the Villers Bretonneux front which broke through the Germans lines. He rejoined them on the 11th August was in action with his unit until September 18th 1918. He came through all this time unscathed.
The September 18th action at Le Verguier was the 48th Battalion's last action in the war. They were then pulled out of the line for a rest period and the Armistice was announced before they could return to the front. After the Armistice was announced the 48th Battalion went to what had been German occupied parts of France and Belgium. They would be here for the next few months.
Charlie returned to England on the 31st March 1919. He was tehn sent to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott where he would wait to be assigned a berth on a ship home.
On the 4th June 1919 Charlie boarded the transport ship Bremen and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 16th July 1919. Charlie had not been wounded in the war so his medical examination at No.8 Australian General Hospital was reasonably quick.
Charlie was discharged from the AIF on the 23rd August 1919.
During his absence Charlie's wife Annie had moved the family to Congdon Street North Fremantle.
They then moved to 14 Bracks Street North Fremantle. Charlie had resumed his work as a Pile Driver. The family lived here till 1937.
A son Leslie was born on the 2nd June 1931 and a daughter Enid followed in 1933.
Charlie died on the 20th October 1942 at Beaconsfield aged 54. He was buried at Fremantle Cemetery Plot Anglican MON A6 0115
His wife Annie remained living in Bracks Street North Fremantle for a few more years. She died in 1980.