Charles Henry Caldwell Antill (1910 - 2002)

Ancestors

Biography

Charles Henry Caldwell Antill was born on 25th May 1910 at Harbord, New South Wales, Australia. He was the eldest son of Robert Antill and Ethel Jones.^[1]

As did all his brothers, Charles served in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War; enlisted 17th June 1940 at Paddington, New South Wales; discharged 31st January 1946.^[2] He was a soldier in the 2/18th Australian Infantry Battalion.^[3] As part of the 22nd Brigade of the 8th Australian Division, the 2/18th sailed from Sydney bound for Singapore on 4th February 1941. Immediately upon its arrival in Singapore on 18th February, the 2/18th moved north to Port Dickson in Malaya, where it would train for service under tropical conditions. War with Japan was increasingly likely and the battalion set to preparing defensive positions. On 17th January 1942 the 2/18th, much to the consternation of many members of the battalion, received orders to abandon their well-prepared defences at Mersing and withdraw to Jemaluang further south. Japanese successes to the west were threatening to outflank the forces on the east coast. Like most Australian units involved, it fell into a desperate retreat that ended with surrender on the outskirts of Singapore city on the night of 15th February.

Initially imprisoned in the sprawling Changi prisoner of war camp, it was not long before members of the 2/18th were allocated to external work parties. The largest group of 2/18th prisoners were send to to Blakang Mati, off the southern coast of Singapore and lesser numbers ended up at other camps around Singapore and Malaya, along the Burma-Thailand railway, and in Borneo and Japan. The surviving prisoners, included Charles Antill, were liberated in late-August 1945 and began returning to Australia almost immediately.^[4]

Difficult times continued after repatriation. How does one just forget what they have lived through for four years? As Charles settled, he met, courted, and then, in 1948, married Gladys Elizabeth Stebbing in Hurstville, New South Wales.^[5] Unfortunately, they divorced just five years later.

Charles passed away, aged 92 years, on 17th June 2002 in the RSL Village, Harbord, New South Wales.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #11543/1910
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: NX34381 Private Charles Henry Caldwell Antill; accessed 29 Aug 2018
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 2/18th Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 29 Aug 2018
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial Prisoners of War: Charles Henry Antill; accessed 29 Aug 2018
5. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #2347/1948
6. ↑ Rysen Index Sydney Morning Herald aged 92 late of RSL village formerly of Bawley Point and Harbord

• King Family Tree Ancestry.
• Virtual War Memorial Australia: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/1408699
• The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial (https://www.powmemorialballarat.com.au/ : accessed 7 Mar 2024) database entry for Charles Henry Caldwell Antill