Johns, Charles Norman
22297 Gunner Charles Norman Johns - 7th Field Artillery Brigade
Charles Norman John was born in January 1890 in Ealing England in 1890 to Charles and Edith Johns. He had a younger brother called James born in 1895.
The 1901 census Listed Charles as living at Greenford Middlesex England. He had the next ten years in England and then travelled to Western Australia circa 1912. By 1913 Charlie was living at 55 Bellevue Terrace Fremantle and was working as a storeman.
On the 3rd January 1916 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 & 1/4 inches tall;
Weight - 128lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-36 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Brown.
After his successful enlistment, Charlie was initially sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the Artillery reinforcements. As the artillery were training in Victoria, Charlie was sent over east to Maribyrnong Camp.
Charlie was attached to the 109th Battery of the 23rd Howitzer Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division Artillery. Charlie and his unit departed from Port Melbourne aboard the troopship HMAT Medic on the 20th May 1916. The ship then set sail for England, arriving at Plymouth Harbour on the 18th July 1916.
He was then disembarked, and with his unit, was sent to the 3rd Australian Division training grounds on the Salisbury Plains. He trained with his unit in England for the next five months. On the 31st December 1916 Charlie departed England for France but shortly after arrival he was transferred to the 7th Field Artillery Brigade.
Not long after arriving in France Charlie fell ill with mumps and was sent to the 7th General Hospital at St Omer. He returned to his unit a few weeks later and was posted to the 27th Battery. The 7th Field Artillery Brigade supported the 3rd Division infantry in Northern France for the first few months of 1917 before heading into southern Belgium near Ploegsteert. They then supported the Messines front from June to August 1917 before heading to Ypres where they supported the current offensive taking place there.
In August 1917 Charlie had been transferred from the 27th Battery to the 7th Field Artillery Brigade HQ. He survived the Third Battle of Ypres unscathed despite the large amount of German artillery fire that was directed onto their battery positions.
From December 1917 to March 1918, the 7th Field Artillery Brigade was situated south east of Ypres towards Messines. On the 29th December 1917 Charlie was given two weeks leave to England, returning to his unit on the 13th January 1918.
As a result of the German offensive on March 21st 1918, which broke through the British line further south, the Australian Divisions were sent south to help stop this advance. The 3rd Australian Division were sent to an area just north of the Somme River near Sailly Laurette and Sailly-le-Sec. The 7th Field Artillery Brigade provided artillery support to the infantry in this sector.
On the 24th April 1918 the Germans launched a large bombardment on the artillery positions which included gas shells. Charlie was wounded by the gas shell and was initially taken to the 11th Field Ambulance for treatment. He was then sent to the 4th Casualty Clearing Station where further work was done and Charlie was then put on an ambulance train for the French town of Rouen where he was admitted to the 5th General Hospital.
Charlie only had a few days in Rouen before he was shipped to England. He was then admitted to the Alexandria Hospital at Cosham. He had three weeks here before being transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford. Fortunately Charlie had recovered quickly and on the 1st June 1918 was transferred to No.4 Command Depot Camp. He spent over a month there and then on the 8th July 1918 was transferred to the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Longbridge Deverell.
On the 19th July 1918 Charlie was transferred to the Royal British Artillery Camp at Heytesbury and remained there through to the end of September 1918. On the 1st October 1918 Charlie returned to France and was taken back on strength of the 7th Field Artillery Brigade on the 10th October 1918. Charlie saw action with his unit as they were providing fire support for British and American troops up till the end of the month.
On the 11th November 1918 Charlie and his unit were out of the line when the Armistice was signed. He would remain with the 7th Field Artillery Brigade in France through to the end of April 1919. He then returned to England and was sent to No.2 Group Camp at Sutton Veny. Charlie would remain here while waiting to be assigned a berth on a ship back to Australia.
On the 16th June 1916 he boarded the transport ship Ormonde and set sail, reaching Fremantle on the 24th July 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on the 7th September 1919.
On his return from the war Charlie resumed his role as a storeman and moved to North Fremantle where he resided as Jewell Parade. Charlie lived here through to 1925 but then returned to England. He was married on the 16th April 1927 to Edith Annie Sturges and had a son called Charles.
In 1931 he was living at 1 Shellwood Manor Cottage at Leigh Surrey and was still living here through to the 1940's.
Charlie died in April 1959 in Brockham Surrey England.