akers, charles alfred

Gosford District Casualties of World War One

Akers, Charles Alfred Service Number 2516

Killed in Action 14th October 1917 Passchendaele, Ypres, Belgium

Gosford City Council gratefully acknowledges the voluntary efforts of

Benalyn Campbell

And Vivienne Tranter

in compiling this resource

The information in this file has been extracted from official records

held in the

The Australian War Memorial and

National Archives of Australia

(© Commonwealth of Australia [National Archives of Australia] 2013)

Further information on this soldier may be found online at:

Commonwealth War Graves

The AIF project

Content advisory: This file may potentially contain disturbing accounts of service-related injury and death, disease and family grief. Adult supervision is recommended for children

using these resources. Individual files should be viewed within the context

provided by wider research on service conditions in the 1st AIF.

This resource is presented by Gosford City Council

for research purposes only. Please note that copyright for resources

contained within remains with the original copyright owners.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en

NAME Akers, Charles Alfred

SERVICE NO 2516

UNIT 35th Battalion

RANK Private

AGE at Enlistment 29 yrs 9 mths

PLACE OF BIRTH Parish of Locksley, Victoria

ADDRESS Kulnura, via Gosford

OCCUPATION Orchardist

DATE OF ENLISTMENT 3.7.1916

PLACE OF ENLIST-MENT

Broadmeadow, Newcastle, NSW

PREVIOUS SERVICE

NEXT OF KIN Mother ;-Mary Ellen Akers, (Widow), “Woondooma” Kulnura, via Wyong

PHYSICAL DESCRIP-TION

Height;- 5’6½” Weight;- 164 lbs Chest Measurement, 36/39½, Complexion;- Fresh, Eyes;- Hazel, Hair;- Black

RELIGION Methodist

EMBARKED 25.10.1916, Sydney per the Ascanius,

DISEMBARKED 28.12.1916, Devonport

NOTES Reported missing 12 Oct 1917

WOUNDED/ILLNESS Killed by shell fire

DIED 12/13 Oct 1917;- Passchendaele Ridge, Ypres, Belgium.

BURIED (Re-Buried) Tyne Cot. British Cemetery, Passchendaele Plot 23 Row D Gve 17.

MEDALS British War Medal-51361, Victory Medal-50681. Memorial Plaque -341187.

DEPENDANTS

PERSONAL EFFECTS Fountain pen (damaged), metal cup, letters, cards, cap comforter, cuttings.

REMARKS Cousins: 3002 Private Joseph AKERS, 7th Battalion, killed in action, 4 October 1917; 3679 Corporal Mark AKERS, 46th Battalion, killed in action, 11 June 1917.

RED CROSS REPORT

Statement made by No 6634 Pte Sutton, 35th

Btn re L/Cpl Akers C A 35th

Btn

“I was alongside of the above named man when he was hit with a piece of shell. He was hit about 4 o’clock in the morning of the 13

th of October 1917,

and killed outright and one of the Scotsmen helped me to bury him and we made his grave as well as possible. He was buried on the top of the first ridge. I could point his grave out at any time without any mistake.” Dated 1

st Jan

1918. signed L R Sutton. Same informant stated on the 12.10.1917 “I saw him killed instantly by a shell at our first objective on the 12

th Oct. at Passchendale Ridge about noon”.

Informant;- Gnr J Patterson 1475 9th

L T M Battery, 3rd

A A Hospital Dart-ford. 26.3.1918

“I saw him killed at Ypres. He was caught by a shell, pieces of which hit him about the body, death being instantaneous, he was in a shell hole at the time. I knew him well, he was married to a relative of mine. He came from Wyong, where he was engaged in farming.”

NEWSPAPER REPORTS

WILL

CORRESPONDENCE Letter dated 24 Feb 1918 from Mary Akers, (Mother) requesting information, also mentioned cousin J W Akers no 3230 having been put into a bed at Ports-

mouth just vacated by Charles. Letter from Mary Akers, (Mother) asking for explanation of package received,

expressing grief at her only son being pressured into enlisting

GOSFORD TIMES 11.7.1918.

In the Will of CHARLES ALFRED AKERS, late of Kulnura near Wyong in the State of New South Wales Orchardist and of His Majesty’s Imperial Forces on active service deceased. – Application will be made after fourteen days from the publication hereof that Letters of Administration of the Estate of the above-named deceased with the Will of the deceased annexed may be granted to MARY ELLEN AKERS of Kulnura Widow the Mother of the said deceased and all notices may be served at and all claims should be sent to the office of the undersigned to whom creditors are requested to render their accounts within the same period – CHARLES KENDALL ADRIAN, Proctor for the Applicant, Gosford. By his Agents, Messrs SLY and RUSSELL, 369 George St Sydney.

GOSFORD TIMES 21.3.1918. Private C.A. Akers, recently posted as missing, is now officially

reported to have been killed in action in France. He was the

only son of Mrs Akers, of Kulnura.

GOSFORD TIMES 29.11.1917 Reported missing – Private C . A. Akers of Kulnura, Mangrove

Mt.

Abridged record courtesy of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) Series No: B2455 Item Barcode: 3024818

Abridged records courtesy of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) Series No: B2455 Item Barcode: 3024818

akers, charles alfred

Documents

service conditions

private joseph akers

passchendaele ridge

shell hole

piece of shell

lcpl akers c

corporal mark akers

charles alfred service