Charles Glyn Firns

Western Mail 24 Dec 1915, page 23
Personal Information
Date of Birth	not known
Place of Birth	Fremantle, Western Australia
Death	16 Mar 1978
Place of Death	Mt Pleasant, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	18 years, 7 months
Description	5'5½" (1.66m) tall; weight 179 lbs (81.2kg); fresh complexion, grey eyes, brown hair
Occupation	mill hand
Religion	Methodist
Address	Serpentine, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father Mr Charles Firns
Military Information
Reg Number	1703 A
Date of Enlistment	16 Jun 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	28th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement / 7th Brigade, 2nd Division
Date of Embarkation	22 Jul 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A64 Demosthenes
Date of Return	16 Jan 1919 - 22 Feb 1919
Ship Returned On	HMAT A64 Demosthenes
Fate	Wounded in Action 12 Oct 1916, Belgium Wounded in Action 2 Sep 1918 Mont St Quentin Returned to Australia
Monument	Mundijong Serpentine
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

On entry to Blackboy Hill camp, Charles was allocated to the 2nd reinforcement draft for the 28th Battalion, and travelled with them to Egypt.

On 11 Oct 1915 along with 192 other members of the 2nd and 3rd reinforcements he joined the battalion on Gallipoli, with the men allocated to the Rifle Companies the following morning. His individual records have no entries for his time on the Gallipoli Peninsular. On 10 Jan 1916 he disembarked from HMT Ausonia in Alexandria, ex Mudross, having evacuated Anzac Cove on 28 Dec 1915 or earlier for Mudross.

A brief period of retraining and guarding the Suez Canal at Ferry-Post, followed by a return to Alexandria on 16 Mar 1916. Boarded HMAT A32 Themistocles and sailed for Marseilles in France at 1730 hours on 16 Mar 1916, arriving in Marseilles at 1530 on the 21st.

Soon after arriving in France Charles spent time in hospital (August 1916), before being wounded in action for the first time on 12 Oct 1916. He was one of two members of a raiding party that were wounded during an attack on enemy lines in Belgium. The party captured two members of the 106th Saxon Regiment. Admitted to the 5th Australian Field Ambulance on 14 Oct 1916, he was quickly passed to the 17th Casualty Clearing Station and then on 15 Sep 1916 to the 14th General Hospital in Wimereux. On 16 Oct 1916 he was embarked on HMHS St Denis at Boulogne for England where the next day he was admitted to the Eastbourne Military Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left elbow and shoulder, deemed to be severe. By way of contradiction, in the view of the unit War Diary, his injury was said to have not been "serious".

Regardless it was a year later that he again embarked for France through Southampton, rejoining his battalion on 20 Oct 1917 at Steenvorde where they were resting.

In January 1918 Charles was ranted leave in Paris before in late March 1918, Charles spent three days in 7th Australian Field Ambulance in France with scabies. Wounded a second time on 2 Sep 1918 Charles received multiple GSWs when the battalion attacked German positions east of Mount St Quentin. Seen by the 14th Australian Field Ambulance and then the 53rd Casualty Clearing Station on 2 Sep 1918, he was placed on a Hospital Train and sent to 9th General Hospital in Rouen. He was then transferred to England on 5 Sep 1918 aboard HMHS Western Australia and admitted next day to the 1st Southern General Hospital on Dudley road Birmingham. Discharged from hospital on 14 Oct 1918 he was granted a fortnight's furlough.

On 23 Nov 1918 he had his second brush with military law, being charged with having been AWOL from 2130 on 12 Nov till 0900 on 13 Nov 1918. Admonished and fined a day's pay. His earlier brush had occurred during the time he was recovering from his first injuries at Stourbridge where he had entered an area out of bounds to other ranks. For this misdemeanor he was awarded 10 days confined to barracks.

Discharged 5th Military District 20 Apr 1919

Post War

In Fremantle during 1922 Charles married Myrtle Annette Box. Myrtle died 11 Sep 1969 in Melville.

Electoral Roll entries - 1922 Serpentine, mill hand; 1925 farmer at Koorda; 1936 - 1937 a miner at Paddington; 1943 at 80 Lyall street, Hannans, miner; 1949 at 65 Addis street, Kalgoorlie, miner (Reginald Glyn Lourdes also); 1963 - 1968 at 11 Halse crescent, Melville, retired ; 1977 Charles and Reginald only at 3 Ventnor avenue, Mt Pleasant.