SERGEANT CHARLES HENRY ANGUS
478 – 2nd Tunnelling Company
Born at Guildford, Victoria in 1875, Charles Henry Angus, the son of George and Mary Ann Angus,
completed the ‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’ on 15 September 1915 in
Melbourne. Following a medical examination which found him to be ‘fit for active service’, he signed
the Oath to ‘well and truly serve’ on same day.
A 39-year-old married Farmer, he named as his Next-of-Kin his wife, Mary Ann (nee Doig) Angus of
Woodend, Victoria and allotted three-fifths of his pay for the support of his wife and one child.
Charles was 5ft 6¾ins tall, weighed 10 Stone 2 lbs, had a mid complexion, brown eyes and grey hair.
Until 5 November he was with the 24th Depot Battalion. On 6 November he was appointed to the No.2
Company, Mining Corps at Casula, New South Wales, with the rank of Sapper.
On 1 December he was promoted to Corporal and on 1 February 1916 he was made a Sergeant. He
embarked with the Australian Mining Corps on 20 February 1916.
Following a farewell parade in the Domain, Sydney, the Australian Mining Corps embarked from
Sydney, New South Wales on 20 February 1916 on board HMAT A38 Ulysses.
The Mining Corps comprised 1303 members at the time they embarked with a Headquarters of 40; No.1
Company – 390; No.2 Company – 380; No.3 Company – 392, and 101 members of the 1st
Reinforcements.
Ulysses arrived in Melbourne, Victoria on 22 February and the Miners were camped at Seymour while
additional stores and equipment were loaded onto Ulysses. Departing Melbourne on 1 March, Ulysses
sailed to Fremantle, Western Australia where additional members of the Corps were embarked. After a
delay of about a month due to Ulysses requiring repairs following a collision with an uncharted rock when
leaving Fremantle on 8 March, The Mining Corps sailed for the European Theatre on 1 April 1916. The
men on board nicknamed her ‘Useless’.
The ship arrived at Suez, Egypt on 22 April, departing for Port Said the next day; then on to Alexandria.
The Captain of the ship was reluctant to take Ulysses out of the Suez Canal because he felt the weight of
the ship made it impossible to manoeuvre in the situation of a submarine attack. The Mining Corps was
transhipped to B1 Ansonia for the final legs to Marseilles, France via Valetta, Malta. Arriving at
Marseilles on 5 May, most of the men entrained for Hazebrouck where they arrived to set up their first
camp on 8 May 1916.
A ‘Mining Corps’ did not fit in the British Expeditionary Force, and the Corps was disbanded and three
Australian Tunnelling Companies were formed. The Technical Staff of the Corps Headquarters, plus
some technically qualified men from the individual companies, was formed into the entirely new
Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining and Boring Company (AEMMBC), named by themselves as
the ‘Alphabeticals’.
In June 1917 the Company had moved to Coxyde Bains to conduct experimental work on tunnelling in
sand to determine if work could be conducted on the banks of the Yser River near where it entered the sea.
Mining was to be conducted in this area so that the offensive at Ypres could be supported by a coastal
attack. To this end the XV British Corps took this sector over from the XXXVI French Corps on 20 June,
1917. Prior to this on 6 June Brigadier-General Harvey had conducted a survey of the area and had
decided that if mining was possible in the area it would be extremely difficult. The 2nd Australian
Tunnelling Company was chosen after their successful experiments at Coxyde Bains. They started on
undermining a German strong point as well as two u/g communication trenches, a battalion HQ and a
number of dugouts.
[see 2ATC and the Affair at Nieuport-Bains in the Western Front section of this site]
The War Diary of the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company for July, 1917 records:
“10 July, 1917
The extreme left of the British front line was at this time about 600 yards in advance of the
River Yser, and consisted of a series of posts in the Dunes, and on the beach. The Reserve line,
Battalion Head Qtrs, and the billets of this unit were on the Western side of the river, and connected to
the front line system, by three pontoon bridges. About 8 am the enemy opened up a heavy
bombardment on these bridges and by 2 pm they were destroyed, the result being that all men on the
Eastern side of the river were cut off.
These included 2/Lt W.M. Mortenson and 2/Lt E.P. Hargraves, 47 Tunnellers and 47 attached
infantry, 1st Battalion, Kings Royal Rifles Corps, and 1st Battalion, 1st Gloucester Regiment, with
technical arms.
Throughout the day the enemy kept up an intense and destructive bombardment on
NIEUPORT BAINS.
As nearly as can be estimated, at about 7 pm the enemy attacked and killed or took prisoner all
on that side of the river, with the exception of a few Officers and men who swam across.”
The Record of Service for Charles contains no entries until 10 July 1917 when he was reported ‘Missing’.
On 26 July he was confirmed as a Prisoner-of-War, interned at the Limburg POW Camp.
Charles sent a Postcard on 14 August which advised he was interned at Limburg. A second Postcard on
27 September advised that he had been transferred to Lechfeld.
On 31 August 1918 he was transferred to Switzerland for internment. On 14 November 1918, Charles
completed a brief ‘Statement by a Prisoner of War interned in Switzerland’. The Statement was taken by
Captain Charles Mills, 31st Battalion, Official Representative of the A.I.F. in Switzerland.
The Statement covered the details of his capture, Officers he had seen during the engagement and what
had happened to him after capture.
Repatriated to England arriving 8 December 1918, Charles was admitted to Fulham Military Hospital
suffering debility.
He reported to Headquarters, A.I.F., on 10 December and granted leave, to report back to Headquarters
on 10 January 1919.
He marched in to No.2 Com. Depot at Weymouth on 10 January in preparation for repatriation to
Australia. On 10 February he was admitted to hospital for six days.
Charles left London on 25 March 1919 on board the Port Denison and arrived in Australia on 10 May
1919. He was Discharged from the A.I.F. on 26 July 1919.
Charles received his British War Medal on 2 August 1921 and the Victory Medal on 25 August 1922.
In July 1928, Charles wrote to Base Records at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, requesting re-issue of his
Discharge Certificate, British War Medal and Victory Medal lost on 26th February when he lost his home
and its contents in a fire. An ‘Identification Statement’ in lieu of his Discharge Certificate was issued on
24 July 1918 and the replacement medals were forwarded to him by Registered Post in September of that
year.
Charles Henry Angus died on 7 February 1956 at Ivanhoe, Victoria, aged 82 years. His passing was
notified to the Imperial War Graves.
His brother George William Angus served at Rabual with the 3rd Battalion, Australian Naval & Military
Expeditionary Force Tropics Unit. Enlisting on 10 December 1914, he embarked for Rabual on 25
January 1915. He was discharged 23 December 1915.
George enlisted a further three times for short periods, being discharged at his own request after a few
months service. He died at Ascot Vale, Victoria on 3 August 1956 aged 82 years.
© Donna Baldey 2009
www.tunnellers.net