Charles William (Charlie) Divall

Charles William (Charlie) Divall

Personal Information
Date of Birth	4 Feb 1902
Place of Birth	Knockholt, Kent, England
Age at Enlistment	38 years, 10 months
Occupation	dairy farm hand
Religion	Roman Catholic
Address	Fifth road, Armadale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Wife , Ms Eileen Divall
Military Information
Reg Number	WX10055
Date of Enlistment	13 Dec 1940
Rank	Private
Military Movement
1st Departure from Australia
Journey Dates	5 Jul 1941 ‒ 25 Jul 1941
Transport Details	HMT Aquitania Fremantle to Port Tewfik
Return to Australia
Journey Dates	13 Mar 1942 ‒ 25 Mar 1942
Transport Details	RMS Laconia Port Tewfik to Colombo, Ceylon
Journey Dates	25 Mar 1942 ‒ 15 May 1942
Transport Details	HMT Duntroon Colombo to Melbourne
Post War Details
Fate	Returned to Australia (Medical)

War Service

Four days after enlisting at Claremont, Charles was drafted to the No 3 Training Battalion at Northam camp. On 14 Jan 1941 he was transferred to the No 2 Training Battalion, and then on 25 Feb 1941 to the 13th training Battalion as a member of the 7th reinforcements for the 2/28th Battalion. He had pre-embarkation leave from 24 - 30 Apr 1941 before spending time in hospital, 28 May to 6 Jun 1941, with a wrist problem.

On 5 Jul 1941 he embarked on the HMT Aquitania, a part of Convoy US 11A from Fremantle to the Middle East via Colombo in Ceylon. On 25 Jul they disembarked at Port Tewfik. On 8 Aug 1941 he was attached for due with the AIF (Middle East) Officers School. Charles was admitted to the 2/7th Australian General Hospital on 10 Dec 1941 with Myositis and arthritis to the right shoulder. Following treatment he returned to his unit on 3 Jan 1942, and on 6 Feb 1942 his detachment to the Officers School was terminated. On 13 Mar 1942 he embarked on the RMS Laconia in Suez for Colombo, Ceylon, where on 25 Mar 1942 he was transhipped to the HMT Duntroon for Australia, arriving in Melbourne on 15 May 1942. On 9 Jul 1942 he was sent to Wayville in South Australia.

After three days at Wayville he was entrained for Western Australia where he was held at Claremont until seen by a Medical Board on 30 Sep 1940. The result of the board was that he was classified 'D', unsuited for military service. Granted leave from 9 Oct 1942 until 7 Nov 1942 when he was discharged.