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Charles Levison Berry - Information

The Berry family came from Sydney, and had settled in Picton Lakes near Thirlmere. Here, Charles found work as a railway porter. When he was 20, he signed up for war service on the 20th of January 1916 at the Royal Showground Camp in Sydney. Training at Bathurst, he was then assigned to the Australian Army Medical Corps in Liverpool. From April 1916 until March 1917, he completed duty at the 4th Australian General Hospital in Randwick. Charles was then posted to the 1st Light Horse Field Ambulance as a Trooper. He was shipped out from Sydney on the 9th of May 1917 onboard the HMAT Port Sydney.

Charles disembarked in Suez, Egypt in late June. The following month, he joined the Mounted Division, valiantly bringing in scared, wounded and sick men to casualty stations and hospitals. He was admitted to hospital in early September with painful headaches and debility. These were the result of pressure from an old skull fracture. This fracture was serious, having been previously denied military service because of it. He returned to duty in mid December, joining the Camel Brigade Field Ambulance. However in 1918, Charles was continually in agony from headaches and overall declining health. Resultantly, he was sent back to Australia on the 30th of August 1918.