Ancestor Details
Name of Ancestor: Charles White
Ancestor's date of birth: 10/11/1875
Ancestor's date of death: 19/05/1947
Cause of Death: Heart
Service Number: 78 (NSWAMC - 1st contingent), 1268 (NSWAMC, later contingent and ACAMC)
Colony or State of enlistment: NSW, Place of Enlistment: Sydney
Unit: NSW Army Medical Corps and Australian Commonwealth Army Medical Corps.
Rank attained in Boer War: SGT, Date Effective: 05/1901
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): No evidence of post Boer War military service.
Murray Page: 22, 26, 175.
Contingent: First and Fifth New South Wales, First Commonwealth of Australia.
Ship: Kent, Date of Sailing: 28/10/1899
Ship: Custodian, Date of Sailing: 17/05/1901
Memorial details: Detail not provided.
Awards/Decorations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal clasps. King's South Africa Medal with SA 1901 and SA 1902 clasps.
Personal Characteristics: A tramway conductor, height 176 cm, complexion fair, eyes hazel, hair dark brown - born Wingham NSW .
Reasons to go and fight: Single man
Details of service in war: The initial detachment of the New South Wales Army Medical corps arrived in early December 1899 and worked in support of Australian soldiers from all colonies, units from the UK and others from New Zealand and Canada. Charles White held the rank of Private and was a stretcher bearer and batman to Major Roth. The team returned to Australia on the 8 January 1901 on the Orient. With the fight in South Africa unfinished, he did not return to the tramways but enlisted as a gunner in the permanent atrillery on 25 March 1901. With a medical team to be included in the fifth New South Wales contingent, he again took up the challenge, his experience rewarded with promotion to the rank of sergeant, and he was given charge of a bearer detachment. This team arrived in April 1901 and worked mainly in support of Australian soldiers in the Transvaal; the war was now in the guerilla stage. When the Australian Commonwealth medical team arrived in February 1902, Sergeant White was transferred to it, serving, mainly in support of the 1 and 2 ACH near Klerksdorp until the war ended on 31 May 1902.
Service and life after the Boer War: Returned to Australia: July-August 1902 on Norfolk or Drayton Grange. Charles then joined the Fire Brigade. Became the first permanent Officer at Cessnock Fire Station NSW. His log books are still held at the station - his photo hangs in the station to this date. Charles was presented with a wallet in appreciation of - actual inscription as follows "C. White Esq. Committee NSW Fire Brigade 250,000 (pounds) Art Union 1929. Presented by Hospitals, Ambulances and Charities of NSW" - I have this wallet.
Descendant Details
Name of Descendant: Leonie Rennie, Mount Tamborine QLD
Relationship to Ancestor: Grand DaughterName of Descendant: Sandra Margaret McDonald, Mount Tamborine QLD
Relationship to Ancestor: Grand Daughter
