The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2446) Lance Corporal Charles Neil Mackinnon, 19th Battalion, AIF, First World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on (2446) Lance Corporal Charles Neil Mackinnon, 19th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2446 Lance Corporal Charles Neil Mackinnon, 19th Battalion, AIF
KIA 30 August 1918
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 17 July 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Charles Neil Mackinnon.

Charles Mackinnon was born in 1888 to Neil and Sarah Mackinnon of Petersham in Sydney. Very little is known of his life before he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, which he did in July 1915, citing his occupation as a “labourer”.

Mackinnon was posted to the 19th Battalion and, after a period of training in Australia, left in October 1915 for Egypt. After further training he was sent to join his battalion in France, but within days of his arrival he fell ill and was sent to hospital.

Mackinnon stayed with his battalion throughout the fighting at Pozières and Mouquet Farm. The battalion had a quiet spell in the trenches around Ypres later in 1916 before returning to the Somme in October, making an attack near the French village of Flers in November of that year.

The winter of 1916–17 was bitterly cold and took a serious toll on Charles Mackinnon’s health. He was in and out of hospital with influenza and trench fever on a number of occasions before being sent to Étaples for light duties for a few weeks. Following his return to his battalion, Mackinnon was shot in the wrist, resulting in more hospitalisation, this time in England.

Early in 1918 Mackinnon was sent to a number of training schools and did not return to his battalion for some months. In late August the 19th Battalion was on the banks of the Somme Canal with the intention of crossing it on the way to Péronne. Engineers had been working on bridges to cross the canal, but when the men of the battalion arrived the bridges were incomplete. A non-commissioned officer, Corporal John Mooney, was reconnoitring the position when he was hit by a German shell and killed.

The 19th Battalion withdrew to its original position, and thoughts turned to retrieving Corporal Mooney’s body. Lance Corporal Charles Mackinnon volunteered to go with three other men and a stretcher to bring it back. They collected Mooney’s body from the banks of the river without any problems, but before they had reached safety a stray shell dropped near the party. Lance Corporal Charles Mackinnon was killed outright, along with another of the party, Private James McIlwee. The pair were buried together a short distance from where they fell, along with John Mooney. Charles Mackinnon was 29 years old.

The names of Charles Mackinnon, James McIlwee, and John Mooney are listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 other Australians who died during the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lance Corporal Charles Neil Mackinnon, Private James McIlwee, Corporal John Ignatius Mooney, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section

Sources:
www.ancestry.com

Australian War Memorial Red Cross Wounded and Missing file, John Ignatius Mooney.

National Archives of Australia, service record, Charles Neil Mackinnon.

19th Battalion War Diary, August 1918, Australian War Memorial.