DYER, Charles

Charles was born to Frederick and Bertha Dyer in Suffolk, England. He came to Australia with his brother Frederick at the end of 1911 and worked on the land in the Mt. Russell district west of Inverell. In preparation for enlistment in October 1915 he passed his medical examination at Inverell and, aged twenty two, joined with the First Contingent of The Kurrajongs when they left the town on 12 January 1916.

He became a member of the 33rd Battalion, C Company which sailed from Sydney on HMAT A74 Marathon on 4th May 1916 after training at Armidale and Rutherford camps.  Following their arrival in England further training was undertaken at Salisbury Plain as part of the 3rd Division.  They were sent to France in November where they experienced the freezing conditions of that terrible winter. At Messines in June Charles was wounded and transferred to hospital at Chichester, England for treatment.  It was some weeks before he rejoined his unit.  In August 1918 he was wounded again and invalided back to Sutton Veny Military Hospital in England, rejoining his unit in December.

Charles returned to Australia in May 1919.  He married in 1923, had a family and spent the remainder of his life working his farm at Mt. Russell. He died in 1975 and is buried at the Inverell New General Cemetery. His name is recorded on the Inverell Honor Roll.