Charles Thomas Gillam (1893 - 1918)

Born 1893 in Cranbrook, Western Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Died 3 Apr 1918 at about age 25 in France

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Biography

Private Charles Gillam Died of Wounds during World War I.

Charles Gillam is an Anzac who served in World War One.

Charles Gillam was born in Western Australia, Australia

Charles Thomas Gillam was born in 1893 in Cranbrook, Western Australia.^[1] He was the son of Edward Thomas and Louisa Sounness.

Charles attended school at Cranbrook State School, Western Australia before becoming a farm labourer.

Charles enlisted on 27 April 1916 in Blackboy Hill, Western Australia and was attached to the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion.^[2]

He embarked the HMAT Miltiades on 7 August 1916 in Fremantle, Western Australia and disembarked on 25 September 1916 in Plymouth, England. On 19 December 1916 he proceeded overseas to France.^[3]

He participated in the first battle of Bullecourt on April 11, 1917, where his battalion suffered heavy casualties, but he survived.

On June 7, 1917, at 3:10 a.m., nineteen potent mines beneath the German lines along the Wytschaete – Messines ridge detonated. Charles was with the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion throughout this battle. Along with the New Zealand Division they captured the ridge.

On 28 and 29 March 1918 Charles, as part of the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion, took part in the Battle of Dernancourt. Charles was admitted to the Tenth General Hospital, Rouen, France on 31 March 1918.^[4] He was badly wounded in this battle and succumbed to his injuries on 3 April 1918.^[5]

Charles was laid to rest in Saint Sever Cemetery in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, France.^[6] This cemetery holds thousands of Commonwealth soldiers who died during the Great War.

His name is projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial on certain dates.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Western Australia Birth Index. (Government of Western Australia, Department of Justice, The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-justice/online-index-search-tool: accessed 10 Feb 2024), index entry for Charles Thomas Gillam (Father: Edward, Mother: Mary, Place of Birth: Cranbrook GSR, Registration District: Plantagenet, Registration Year: 1893, Registration Number: 1305)
2. ↑ https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Gallery151/dist/JGalleryViewer.aspx?B=5008810&S=4&N=45&R=0#/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5008810&T=P&S=10
3. ↑ https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Gallery151/dist/JGalleryViewer.aspx?B=5008810&S=4&N=45&R=0#/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5008810&T=P&S=17
4. ↑ https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Gallery151/dist/JGalleryViewer.aspx?B=5008810&S=4&N=45&R=0#/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5008810&T=P&S=36
5. ↑ https://honouravenueskingspark.com.au/present/hap-database/1206-pte-charles-gillam
6. ↑ https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1045976/document/5633647.PDF
7. ↑ https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1730496