The AIF Project

Charles John VYNER

Regimental number569
Place of birthArmidale, New South Wales
SchoolChurch of England Grammar School, North Sydney, New South Wales
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationClerk
AddressReydan, Shadler Street, Neutral Bay, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation20
Height5' 10.5"
Next of kinFather, Charles James Vyner, MRCVS, Reydan, Shadler Street, Neutral Bay, Sydney, New South Wales
Previous military serviceServed for 10 months in the Senior Cadets; resigned.
Enlistment date17 August 1914
Place of enlistmentRandwick, New South Wales
Rank on enlistmentLance Corporal
Unit name2nd Battalion, E Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/19/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board Transport A23 Suffolk on 18 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll2nd Battalion
FateKilled in Action 2 May 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Date of death2 May 1915
Age at death21
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 16), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
34
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Charles James and Selina Alice VYNER.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 April 1915.

Reported missing, 2 May 1915.

Court of Enquiry, held at sea on board HMT Z23, 24 March 1916, declared fate to be 'killed in action, 2 May 1915'.

Hanwritten ote on Form B103, 17 July 1917: 'No trace Grave Site'.

Statement, Red Cross File No 2820710K, 626 Pte J. GRANT, 2nd Bn (patient, 2nd Auxiliary Convalescent Depot, Heliopolis, Egypt), 15 October 1915: 'Witness states that about 4.15 a.m. on April 25th, Corporal Vyner came over with a Lt. Brown (since killed) to speak to the officer in charge of a party to which witness belonged. Corporal Vyner was hit over the left eye almost immediately afterwards and at the same time was lying next to witness in thick scrub. Witness took out Vyner's first aid bandage and tied him up roughly. He said he died almost at once and thinks he was left there after the retirement.'

Second statement, 521 Sergeant E.P. ELLIS, D Company, 54th Bn, 2 April 1916: 'Witness knows that this man landed on the Peninsula on 25/4/15 and took part in the fighting in the early stages but says he was absent at the first muster which was held on the beach on 29/4/15. Witness has not seen Vyner since and does not know what became of him.'

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, VYNER Charles John
Red Cross File No 2820710K

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