The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1731) Driver (Temporary Bombardier) Charles Wealands, 110th Australian Howitzer Battery, 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (1731) Driver (Temporary Bombardier) Charles Wealands, 110th Australian Howitzer Battery, First World War.

1731 Driver (Temporary Bombardier) Charles Wealands, 110th Australian Howitzer Battery
KIA 14 June 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 18 February 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Driver Charles Wealands.

Popularly known as “Curly”, Charles Wealands was born in 1892 to Ralph and Eliza Wealands of Tumbarumba, New South Wales. When he was only eight years old, one of his brothers died, followed a month later by his mother. A year later Charles was shooting rabbits with his eldest brother, Ralph, and a friend, when Ralph shot himself in the head, dying weeks later of his injuries. An inquest, at which Charles gave evidence, determined that the incident had been an accident. The family was well respected in the Tumbarumba district, and many attended the funeral.

Charles Wealands grew up to be what was later reported as “a splendid specimen of vigorous manhood” and worked in the district as a labourer.

Wealands enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915. He was posted to the artillery and sent overseas for training in Egypt in October 1915. The following June he arrived in France with the rank of driver, and went on to join the 110th Australian Howitzer Battery. In March 1917 he was given the temporary rank of bombardier.

Life in the artillery was dangerous. The enemy’s artillery constantly searched for Australian guns, hoping to put them out of action. And the men of the artillery were handling explosives and other dangerous material on a daily basis.

On 14 June 1917 Wealands’s battery was stationed near Messines in Belgium. An ammunition supply dump stood nearby. When a German shell hit this dump, it went up in a massive explosion. Sixteen men were killed outright, three would die of their wounds, and six others were wounded.

Temporary Bombardier Charles Wealand was one of those killed in the blast. His name appears on a nearby monument erected by his comrades, and he was buried in Kandahar Farm Cemetery in Belgium.

In Australia a memorial service was held in St Jude’s Church of England for him. A large congregation, including Charles’s family, were present to remember the young man. He was 25 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 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 Driver Charles Wealands, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section