CHARLES EDGAR MAKEHAM
Regimental No. 23/818
24 September 1893 – 12 September 1918
Source: NZ Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 850, 20 October 1916, p 14
Charles Edgar MAKEHAM was born on 24 September 1893 in Wellington. He was the eldest child and only son of Charles Samuel and Margaret (née Jackson) Makeham who had married in December 1891. Charles senior was a carpenter. Charles had a sister, Elizabeth (Lizzie) who was born in 1897.
The family lived at 16 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn and Charles and Lizzie both attended Brooklyn School. At the age of 12 Charles won a scholarship to Wellington College where he stayed until the age of 15. While at Wellington College, Charles was a keen debater as well as a sportsman playing cricket and soccer. He continued with both of these sports after leaving school, and became Treasurer of the Brooklyn Football Club in 1913.
The family attended the Brooklyn Baptist Church and in 1908 Charles won 1st prize in the Baptist Sunday School examinations, Division IV with a mark of 89. His sister won 2nd prize in her division in the same year.
On leaving school at the age of 15 in 1909, Charles passed the Junior Civil Service examinations and went to work at the Public Trust Office in Wellington. He continued to study commerce after leaving school and in 1913 he passed 5 subjects in the examinations. By December of 1914 he had passed 4 subjects in the Victoria University Registered Accountants Diploma.
On 28 April 1915 Charles enlisted as a member of No.5 Group (Wellington City and Suburbs) in C Company 1st Battalion Trentham Regiment, or as it was gazetted on 27 May 1915, it was to be known with effect from 1 May 1915 as the 1st New Zealand Rifle Brigade (NZRB), also known as ‘The Dinks’, a nickname probably derived from the expression “fair dinkum”.
Charles was described at his medical exam undertaken by Dr Henry Lionel Hughes Steele, Willis Street, Wellington on 19 April 1915 as being 5 feet 8½ inches tall, weighing 9 stone 10 lbs (58 kgs). Charles had a dark complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. He was a civil servant/accountant with the Public Trust and he gave his religious profession as the ‘English Church’ which is interesting as he was an active member of the Brooklyn Baptist Church. His medical examination showed he had an appendix scar from an operation four years previously; he had no fits; his hearing was normal; his eyesight was acceptable as he wore glasses, and his teeth were described as ‘sufficient.’ Charles’s ‘apparent’ and ‘declared’ age on enlistment was 21 years. He was designated a rifleman and given the regimental number 23/818. No doubt because of his academic qualifications and his previous military experience before enlisting as a member of the Garrison Artillery No. 3 Company he was made a Sergeant.
Charles trained at Rangiotu (near Palmerston North), Featherston and Trentham camps with the 1st NZRB. He was inoculated against typhoid on 6 and 13 June 1915. He was medically checked again on 20 September 1915 at the NZRB camp at Rangiotu like the rest of his Company, and he was confirmed as fit for active service overseas.
Charles embarked for Suez from Wellington in convoy on HMNZ No 30 Maunganui on 10 October 1915, as a member of the 1st Battalion New Zealand Rifle Brigade, C Company. Other ships in the convoy were Tahiti, Aparima, Navua and Warrimoo. They had no escort of warships, and fortunately the voyage was uneventful.
The convoy went via Albany (arrived 5 pm on 19 October 1915), where it separated, the Tahiti, Aparima, and Navua proceeding to Suez via Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), while the Maunganui and the Warrimoo called at Freemantle for coaling.
The Equator was crossed on 4 November 1915, and four days later, Cape Gardafui, the north-eastern point of Africa, was sighted and the Red Sea was traversed.
Although Charles’s journey was fairly uneventful, one significant event would have stood out. Private ‘Gordon’ Jefferis died of typhoid fever on the Warrimoo on 2 November 1915 and the Maunganui stopped along with other transports for the burial at sea the same day. [i]
Charles is mentioned in ‘The Periscope,’ the Maunganui's magazine, where he is recorded in the Nominal Roll as a member of C Coy. He also participated in a concert and tug of war competition to identify which company best entertained the troops.
At 7.15 am on 14 November 1915, the Maunganui arrived at Suez but the troops were not allowed to go ashore until the following day,[ii] so it was 15 November 1915 before the 1st Battalion NZRB, including Charles, disembarked and entrained for the Aerodrome Camp, about six miles from Cairo.
At the camp a strict training regimen was instituted to harden the men after their five week sea voyage. Training lasted four weeks and six days until 19 December 1915 when Charles along with C Coy and B Coy of 1st NZRB were despatched from Alexandria on HMS Clematis as part of the Western Frontier Force based at Mersa Matruh, a village, harbour, and fort about 200 miles west of Alexandria[iii]. Thee they took part in fighting against the Senussi, a Sahara based tribe of Arab (puritanical) Muslims who had been ‘persuaded’ by the Germans and the Turks to attack the British forces in the West of Egypt to allow the Turks and Germans to attack the British forces in the East (from Palestine across the Suez Canal). In 1915 the Senussi were pro Turkish and very anti-British. They had been using guerrilla tactics against the French and the Italians in Libya in the early 1900’s, and used the same tactics against the British forces in Egypt from November 1915 until February 1917 when peace with them was established.
Charles spent just over eight weeks on this operation. Initially work was carried out to strengthen the fort and its environs but by mid December 1915 Charles and his Company were in action and under fire for the first time, and along with British, Indian and Australian troops forced the Senussi to retreat. However, the harsh reality of war must have hit Charles hard when a number of 1st NZRB men were killed on Christmas day including men from C Company. Charles attended their burial services.
On 25 December 1915 Charles was promoted to Quarter Master Sergeant (QMS), as a result of the promotion of C Company Sergeant Major Frank Bernard Williams, 23/955. There is little doubt that Charles’s promotion was a direct result of proving his organisational abilities while on duty at Mersa Matruh. As Quartermaster his job was to coordinate, warehouse and plan a variety of stores and equipment essential to keeping the Army units functioning at full efficiency in the field.
During the period 2 – 21 January 1916 Charles and the Battalion were employed on outpost duty, construction work, or engaged in training and route-marching. Charles though was again in the firing line on 22 January 1916. Although this fight was successfully concluded on 25 January 1916 with 200 of the enemy killed and 500 wounded the 1st NZRB incurred one death in action and two officers and 30 other ranks were wounded. Compared to what Charles would face on the Western Front this was a very light skirmish with minimum fatalities as noted by the Auckland Weekly News in January 1916.
With the power of the Senussi broken the 1st NZRB received orders on 26 January 1916 to leave Mersa Matruh for Ismailia, being relieved by a battalion of the South African Brigade. Charles left Mersa Matruh on 18 February 1916 and disembarked at Alexandria where he and the battalion spent just over six weeks. The first 10 days were taken up with resting, refitting and training at the Matras Rest Camp and they rejoined the Brigade at Moascar on 29 February 1916 where it remained until it left for France in early April.
At the end of March 1916 Charles received his two para-typhoid inoculations, and on 1 April 1916 he received, along with the rest of his Battalion, the new five shot charger-loading, short Magazine Lee–Enfield (M.L.E) rifle.[iv]
The Battalion finally embarked for France from Alexandria on the Arcadian on 6 April 1916, and on arriving in Marseilles the train trip to the Western Front battle zone took three days. Charles would have noticed as he progressed north green countryside showing the early signs of spring. He also, for the first time, like the rest of the men, experienced being billeted in farm houses and other buildings as opposed to living in huts or tents.
On arrival in the battle zone a period of further training followed to guarantee maximum fitness for the tasks ahead, and flannelette gas-helmets were issued. A training system for officers and other ranks also ensured that men were kept up to date in all aspects of military developments, such as the newly enhanced trench mortars. This training system was to ensure the troops performed with greater efficiency and effectiveness on the front lines.
On 1 May 1916 the NZRB marched eastwards 18kms from Steenbecque to billets in Estaires. On this night Charles had his first experience of a gas alarm which although false would have firmly established in his mind that he was now in the battle zone. While he could hear the artillery and the machine guns the Western Front in this sector was ‘quiet’ and described as a ‘nursery’ sector in comparison to the Ypres Salient to the north. Charles’s time at Estaires was occupied with training and fatigues.
On 9 May 1916 Charles and his Brigade marched back 16kms, to Morbecque, to receive further training in musketry, the Lewis and Vickers gun and bombing techniques. However, the action was about to heat up for Charles and the NZRB. On 13 May 1916 the Brigade marched to Doulieu (5kms due north of Estaires) and on the night of 22/23 May 1916 Charles and the NZRB commenced its first tour of duty in the trenches in France, taking over the lead part of the Ypres Salient, 6,000 yards due east of Armentieres, in the Epinette sub-sector. The German trenches lay for the most part 200 or 300 yards distant, but in some places only 60 yards across No Man’s Land. A large proportion of the NZRB activities were spent in supplying working parties for the trenches. These required constant upkeep and improvement.
Charles and C Company at this time spent a large amount of time in reserve, either in the trenches of the subsidiary line or in ‘Quality Street’ trenches. As a QMS he would have been busy dealing with the rations and supplies that came from Houplines ( a small village on the eastern fringe of Armentieres) via a tramway running along Australia Avenue. When the tramline was damaged by shell fire Charles would have organised carrying parties to redistribute supplies dumped near the junction of Willow Walk and Japan Road.[v]
While at Armentieres Charles was billeted in an abandoned factory and a school. Nearby were the Divisional Baths for the men's use at Pont de Nieppe, west of Armentieres on the high road to Bailleul, through which clean underclothing was issued. These baths, rented at 1,000 francs per month, were located in buildings that once formed part of a textile factory and had been used for bleaching and dyeing. 1,500 men a day bathed and 40,000 garments a week were washed and mended by 200 women employed by the Division.
In early September 1916 Charles along with the Brigade marched 75 kms south to Fricourt Camp, east of Albert, arriving 9 September 2016. From here they were deployed to the ‘big push’ on the Somme 14 – 15 September 1916. Charles survived unscathed, but on 19 September while with the Brigade in reserve and under heavy rain he was wounded by a gunshot wound to his left wrist and the next day admitted to the 18th General Hospital in Camiers (near Etaples). He was discharged on 26 September 1916 and marched into No.6 Convalescent Depot at Camiers[vi]. Charles recovered from his slight wound and marched into the NZI & GBD[vii] at Etaples on 29 September 1916 where he undertook light duties relevant to his QMS experience. He rejoined the NZRB on 11 October 1916 at Outtersteene, midway between Morbecque and Doulieu, where the Brigade had been returned to its northern operations area. The Brigade were billeted for a rest after participation in the Somme battle.
The rest period however, did not last long and Charles along with his Brigade, during the night of 13th/14th October 1916, relieved the 55th and 56th Australian Battalions on the line, 2,500 yards in length south of the Bois Grenier Sector, just to the south of Armentieres. Here Charles and the rest of the Brigade received the new small-box (gas) respirators (SBR).
On 25 October 1916 the 1st and 2nd Battalions were relieved in the line by the 3rd and 4th, and went to nearby billets at Fleurbaix and Bac St. Maur. On the morning of the 31 October 1916 Charles would have attended an award’s ceremony for officers and other ranks in connection with raids and the engagements in Egypt and on the Somme, which was attended by Hon. W F Massey, Prime Minister, and Sir Joseph Ward, who had been in London attending an Imperial Conference.
By now Charles must have thought about his next career move in the army. He had obviously worked out that the most serious deficiency in the army was the lack of men with field experience who could lead and command, both as officers and NCOs. Receiving an officer’s commission in the field, although possible, was highly unlikely, and the only way to achieve this goal was to apply for Cadet Officer training. He was the correct age (i.e. over 18½), he had a solid New Zealand academic record, and had relevant active military service. Hence he received a nice Christmas present when on 24 December 1916 he was selected for training in the Officers’ Training Corp in England. Within a few days he was en route to Trinity College, Cambridge, via Etaples and Codford where he arrived on 1 January 1917 and was taken on strength and posted to A Company. While in Cambridge Charles was in A Company No.5 Officers Cadet Battalion, and he started his training course on 3 January 1917.
During the 3 months 22 days training at Cambridge Charles and the other Officer Cadets studied military strategies and tactics. However, their training did not just have a military focus, as men like Charles were taught how to behave like a gentleman, and ‘walk and talk’ like an officer as opposed to being like any ordinary rank soldier. Officer Cadets were taught that in order to lead they must be willing to serve and that their first and most important job was to get to know their men and look after them. Charles and the other Cadets were taught “to lead, to command, to influence, and to inspire.”[viii]
They also enjoyed a busy social life, safe from the trials and traumas of action on the front line. On his promotion to 2nd Lieutenant on 25 April 1917, Charles was struck off strength from the Officer Cadet Battalion (OCB) Cambridge and taken on strength at Headquarters London where he became supernumerary to establishment and on 10 May 1917 he was placed on the New Zealand Roll and seconded for duty for return to New Zealand to prepare New Zealand conscripts for active service.
The New Zealand government had realised that with the second division conscription of new troops, including married men, in mid to late 1917, experienced and trained officers were needed to ensure that creditable and sound leadership was provided for all drafts leaving the country. The system of reinforcement commissions was an attempt to ensure that lessons learned on the front line were current and transferred to new troops during initial training in New Zealand by experienced men like Charles. He had become a valuable resource and part of a system providing such experience and leadership.
While waiting for passage to New Zealand Charles was attached to the strength at Sling Camp on 17 May 1917 where he could share his front line experiences with newly arrived troops, and reinforce the training he had received at Cambridge. After more than 2 months at Sling Camp Charles embarked from Plymouth (21 July 1917) for New Zealand on the HMNZT No 113 Arawa.
The news of Charles’ impending arrival back to NZ broke in a number of NZ newspapers in early September 1917 (although reporting was not completely accurate):
Mr. C. S. Makeham, of Brooklyn, has received notification that his son, Lieut. Chas E. Makeham, is returning to New Zealand on duty, and will probably reach Wellington towards the end of the present month. Lieut. Makeham left New Zealand two years ago as a sergeant in the Rifle Brigade, and saw several months' active service in Egypt against the Senussi and other tribesmen before proceeding to France. He went through the Battle of the Somme in September last unhurt, but was wounded immediately afterwards by shell-fire. Subsequently he was selected to go into training as a Military Cadet, and for several months pursued his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained his commission.[ix]
When Charles arrived on the Arawa on 24 September 1917 he was granted three weeks ‘privilege’ leave for rest and recuperation by a Medical Board conducted by Colonel James Purdy, Director Medical Services, and Colonel Joseph Christie, Inspector of Military Hospitals. Charles was one of 24 newly commissioned New Zealand officers returning on duty. The other servicemen on board had been invalided back to NZ.
Charles arrived in Wellington on 25 September 1917 and he was no doubt delighted to be at home with friends and family.
Charles’s first social engagement was to act as Best Man for his mate, 2nd Lieutenant ‘Syd’ Probert, on 3 October 1917 at St. Albans Church, Muritai, Eastbourne. Charles and ‘Syd’ had been in the same Cadet Officer Training Battalion and both returned as reinforcement commissions to New Zealand on the Arawa.
On 16 October 1917, with his period of leave over, Charles reported for duty at Trentham where he was posted to D Coy 34th Reinforcements as a 2nd Lieutenant.
On Christmas Day 1917, with the encouragement and support of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, the Brooklyn Baptist Church and the Brooklyn Methodist Church members expressed appreciation for the work of the merchant service by inviting all seamen in port to a high tea followed by games and entertainment. Charles and his sister Lizzie were part of the musical programme that entertained about 70 men. On Boxing Day, the entertainment for the merchant sailors continued at a picnic held at Seatoun Park.
Life for Charles back in NZ sadly was not without reminders of death. During his time at Trentham Camp several men committed suicide, there was an outbreak of measles (blamed on 34th and 35th Reinforcement men taking leave over Christmas and reintroducing it to the camp), and deaths from cerebral meningitis. On 5 February 1918 Charles, along with a large number of 35th Reinforcements officers and men attended the funeral at Karori Cemetery of Lieutenant Roland Quinn, 5/564, a popular member of the 35th Reinforcements who died of cancer in the Victoria Military Hospital Wellington.[x]
On 12 February 1918 Charles received his formal commissioning parchment[xi] and his time at home ended and once again he left to rejoin the fighting. On 2 March 1918 he departed Wellington as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 35th Reinforcements, D Company on HMNZT No 101 Tofua. The journey to Suez took five weeks and on disembarkation at Suez on 8 April 1918 Charles and his men were marched into the Australian Camp at Suez. The stay in Egypt was brief - three weeks was only just long enough to reorganise for undertaking a circuitous route to the UK, necessary because of concerns about German submarine activity.
Charles and the 35th Reinforcements travelled by steamer to Marseilles from Alexandria, were put on trains to Le Havre, and from there sailed to Southampton, proceeding from there by train to Brocton camp in Staffordshire, 35kms north of Birmingham, where the New Zealand Rifle Brigade was based.[xii] They remained at Brocton for further training for 2 months 23 days, departing finally for France on 7 August 1918.
As this was Charles’s second tour of duty he was familiar with the Western Front. No doubt he would have been confident that with his previous military experience, training and in a leadership role his contribution on this occasion would be significant.
In August 1918 it looked like the war might end. Charles would have noticed that the weather was dryer on this tour than it had been in 1916 and he would have been buoyed by the thought that the Germans looked like they could be defeated. However, the fighting was just as vicious this time round, and at this stage the Germans seemed as if they were not going to give up easily.
On 11 August 1918 Charles joined the 3rd NZ Entrenching Battalion and over the next five days familiarised himself with the battle field prior to transferring to 4 Battalion 3 NZRB D Company on 15 August 1918. He was based near Havrincourt, a small village about 35 kms east of Albert from where Charles had fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
By early September 1918 the Germans occupied the heights of the Trescault Spur north of Havrincourt and the trenches behind the Canal du Nord. These strongly held positions had to be taken before a final attack on the Hindenburg Line could be launched, and it was into this battle that Charles, as an officer in D Company and the 4th 3rd Battalion of the NZ Rifle Brigade, were placed. The weather while initially fine was very cold and windy. A fierce battle raged from 7 to 12 September 1918. German machine guns, heavy artillery, gas attacks, and fierce hand to hand combat dominated the fighting. By 12 September heavy rain was added to the mix.
The Battle of Havrincourt on 12 September was when three divisions of the Third Army attacked the village of Havrincourt: the 62nd Division, New Zealand Division and 37th Division. This battle was the first time that the Hindenberg Line was pierced. General Herbert Hart in his diary described the fighting as follows “there was more close fighting …. than our Division has experienced since Gallipoli, and many very gallant deeds were performed during the day.” [xiii]
Lieut Col W S Austin further stated: “We had opposed to us fresh troops from two of Germany's finest Divisions, including the Jägers, specially brought in to hold this important ground; and, all things considered, the achievement of the Brigade in securing the greater part of the line of vantage on the crest of Trescault Spur was one of which we had no small reason to be proud.” [xiv] The victory was not particularly showy or impressive but it highlighted a growing lack of fighting spirit among the German soldiers on the Western Front.
On the night of 12 September 1918 General Hart wrote in his diary the following sentiments that no doubt would have resonated with all men, including Charles, who experienced the horrors of war:
“How I wished ….. that I could have suddenly been flicked off, to waken up in my home 12,000 miles away, where my darling wife and bairns would be welcoming me back to a home of peace, comfort, love and happiness; where one could enjoy the benefits of a civilised life with its baths, good food; congenial companionship, and a warm bed in which to rest one’s weary bones.”[xv]
Charles Edgar Makeham was one of those who lost their life on the 12th. He had served a total of 3 years and 138 days, starting as a young man of 21, and losing his life only two weeks before he would have celebrated his 25th birthday. His death came less than two months before the war finally ended.
He was initially buried in Havrincourt Wood in an isolated grave 11 miles south east of Bapaume South, and the location of his grave and that he had been killed in action was reported by Rev William Watson. After the Armistice the Commonwealth War Graves Commission added two new areas to the nearby Metz-En-Couture Communal Cemetery to create the British Extension and re-interred men there who had died and been buried near where they fell during the Battle of Havrincourt. Charles was one of those re-interred and his headstone is amongst those of 433 soldiers in the British Extension. His grave is in Plot III, Grave no. 7, and he is amongst the other seven men from 4 Bn3/NZRB who died on the same day.
After notifying Charles’s parents of his death in action, his name and that of his parents were included in a Roll of Honour notice which appeared on page one of the Evening Post on 23 September 1918.
The next day the following article, while not totally accurate, appeared in the Evening Post:
Second Lieutenant C. E. Makeham, who was killed in action on 12th September, was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Makeham, of Ohiro-road, Brooklyn, and was born in Wellington 24 years ago. He was educated at the Brooklyn School, gaining a scholarship at the age of twelve, on which he passed to the Wellington College. He passed the Civil Service examination at the age of 15, and received an appointment in the Public Trust Office. At 21 he became a registered accountant, and then enlisted. He went to Egypt in 1916 in the First Liverpool's Own. There he saw fighting with the Senussi. Proceeding to France, he was promoted to quartermaster-sergeant. He was wounded in the Somme battle in September, 1916. After convalescence he was sent to Cambridge to study for a commission. This he gained in May, 1917, and soon after was posted for home service. He arrived in Wellington in September of last year. Here he became attached to the 35th Reinforcements, and in March 1 of this year proceeded to England via Egypt. He had only been at the front a few weeks when he lost his life. Lieutenant Makeham represented the highest type of young New Zealand manhood. He was highly esteemed by, his fellows in the Public Trust Office. In athletic circles he was a good "sport." In literary circles he was known as a keen debater. He was also a fine church worker, and has left his mark upon "the lives of many of the young people of the Brooklyn Baptist Church, of which he was a member.[xvi]
An “In Memoriam” service was held for Charles in the Baptist Church, Brooklyn on 29 September 1918.
On 10 October 1918, his parents put the following in the Bereavement Notices of the Evening Post:
Mr and Mrs C.S. Makeham sincerely desire to thank all friends for their messages of sympathy in their recent bereavement.
Charles’ campaign medals - the 1914-1915 Star, the British and the Victory medals - Plaque and Scroll were sent to his father who was living in Firth Street Hamilton East in 1921 and 1922 respectively. On 19 December 1918 Charles’ mother, Margaret received a pension from Charles of £26 per annum and on 21 January 1919 this was increased to £52 per annum. While Charles died intestate the Supreme Court of New Zealand granted the Public Trust the responsibility to administer his probate worth a total value of £368.5.5 which was made up from military pay owing, cash, holiday pay, superannuation, and a life policy with National Provident Fund.[xvii]
In 1920 Charles’ sister, Elizabeth, married another Brooklyn man, George Thomas Kellaway[xviii] an accountant who Charles would have known. George’s name is also inscribed on the Brooklyn Memorial, amongst those who served, survived and returned to NZ. He was awarded a Military Cross and was Mentioned in Despatches (MID).
Charles parents, Charles Samuel and Margaret, moved to 29 Firth Street, Hamilton East after the war where his father died aged 59 on 23 December 1926. Margaret then moved to Christchurch and died at Christchurch Public Hospital on 25 November 1928, also aged 59 years.
Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s Charles Edgar Makeham’s death fighting for King and Country was regularly acknowledged In Memoriam newspaper notices from the family.
“Greater love hath no man than this— that a man lay down his life for his friends.”[xix]
[i] Rowland Gordon Jefferis, 8/2957, was a 26-year farmer, single, from Otiake, Otago.
“No. 8/2957, PRIVATE JEFFRIES [sic] ROLAND GORDON,
“D” Company, 7th Reinforcements.
It is with deep regret that we have to record the death of above-named on board H.M.N.Z. Transport No. 34 at 11-15 a.m. on the 2nd November.
The funeral was. held at 2 p.m. on the same day, and as a token of respect, all troops on board H.M.N.Z. Troopship No 30 were paraded on deck, the engines stopped, and the band played the Dead March while the body was committed to the deep.”
Source: The Periscope November 1915 PG 2
“IN MEMORIAM
Pte. Gordon Jeffries, 7th. Reinforcements. Died at Sea November 2nd. 1915.
The judges of the games are deciding a tricky point; excited contestants gratuitously offering a dozen solutions when a hospital Orderly pushes into the ring and whispers to the officers, “Pte Jeffries is dead.” “The sports are postponed!” said Capt. McLean as he raised his cap.
The ship was hushed strangely still when its whole company assembled in the early afternoon to pay a tribute to a departed comrade. In close formation Infantrymen and Ambulance were assembled round the Chaplains [Captains W Grigg 18/15/ Walter McLean 18/17] and the officers who stood beside the bier. The brief, impressive service over, in solemn silence, as the ship slowed down, the remains of Pte. Jeffries were committeed [sic] to the deep Three times the shots rang out. Pipes & Bugles sang their requieum [sic] and over the waste of waters, resounded, sang the soldier’s mournings [sic] for a soldier’s death.
To our late comrade’s family in New Zealand, and to his brother here on board with us and to the members of his company we tender our sincerest sympathy. He who has gone from us has given his life for his country. “Greater love hath no man than this— that a man lay down his life for his friends.””
Source: The Warrimoo Gargle PG 7
His parents Rowland and Mary Jefferis had four sons, two of whom lost their lives in WW1 – Rowland and a younger brother Corporal Ralph Stanley Culling Jefferis, 8/2956, MM (awarded 21/2/17) who was killed in action on 4 October 1917 at Passchendaele. Rowland and Ralph were members of the 7th Reinforcements both on board the Warrimoo. Another son Bombardier Norman Hall Jefferis, 50853, survived the war; and another son tried to volunteer but was rejected as he was too young.
[ii] Source The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade p 19 http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-NZRi.html
[iii] The road and railway line connecting Alexandria from the area were considered unsafe and so access to the fort was facilitated by fast sea transport notwithstanding the threat of enemy submarines or storms.
[iv] At Mersa Matruh during the Senussi Campaign the Battalion was armed with the out of date Mark I Lee Enfield.
[v] Trenches, roads, junctions and other features were given names to assist with way finding and identification.
[vi] Convalescent or Command Depots were half way houses for sick or wounded men who no longer required hospitalisation but were not yet fit to rejoin their units.
[vii] New Zealand Infantry and General Base Depot
[viii] Henry Montagu Butler (2 July 1833 – 14 January 1918) Master of Trinity
[ix] PERSONAL MATTERS Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 55, 3 September 1917, Page 8
[x] Roland Martin Quinn, 5/564, Army Service Corps died aged 46 years 5 months. He was born in India (29 August 1871) and was a professional soldier serving on the Western Front when, following a kick from a horse, he was operated on for carcinoma of the tongue. An operation removed part of his tongue and he was evacuated to NZ. Unfortunately, this condition reoccurred in his neck and he died after another operation. He was married to Margaret Rose (nee O’Neill) at Lucknow India on 21 July 1894. A description of the funeral is in the Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 31, 5 February 1918, Page 8.
[xi] A formal document issued to appoint a named person to high office or as a commissioned officer in a territory's armed forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_(document)
[xii] The Brocton Camp on Cannock Chase took its name after the village of Brocton and the railway station was a half a mile from the camp. This NZ camp comprised about 100 acres and it was considered nicer than Sling camp although the training was very similar to that at Sling Camp such as formal drill, protection against gas, wiring, construction of trenches, bayonet-fighting, physical training, musketry, tactical schemes, and all-night occupation of trenches. Interestingly as the war progressed so did multi skilling men to become specialists as Lewis-gunners, signallers, scouts and bombers to mitigate the impact of casualties in the ranks. Brocton camp was termed “Tin-Town" because of the tin huts which were roomy, lit with electricity, and warmed with a centrally placed coal-stove. The men took great pride in the camp and men’s subscriptions ensured that it had its own cinema, billiard tables and pianos for entertainment. Market gardens were also cultivated to ensure a ready supply of fresh vegetables for food. Close to the camp was a POW camp holding about 3000 Germans.
[xiii] Brigadier General Sir Herbert Ernest Hart KBE, CB, CMG, DSO, VD (13 October 1882 – 5 March 1968) The Devil’s Own War Edited by John Crawford Exisle 2008 pg. 252
[xiv] Lieut Colonel William Semmens Austin 23/2 (28 March 1871 - 31 August 1931) The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade Chapter XVI., pg. 391 http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-NZRi-t1-body-d16.html
[xv] The Devil’s Own War Edited by John Crawford Exisle 2008 pg.253
[xvi] WHILE DOING THEIR DUTY Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 74, 24 September 1918, Page 7 CASUALTIES AT THE FRONT
[xvii] Source: Archives NZ AAOM W3265 6029 Box 407 Record Number 28028. This comprised £51 5 4 cash in bank, £25 1 9, Holiday pay, £63 16 10, Superannuation money, and £215 1 Life Policy, £13 – 6 National Provident Fund. TOTAL £368.5.5.
[xviii] George Thomas Kellaway, 4/1701, MC MID. In WW1 George served with the Signallers as a Lieutenant, and he also served in WW2, rising to the rank of Major.
[xix] John 15:13
Regimental No. 23/818
24 September 1893 – 12 September 1918
Source: NZ Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 850, 20 October 1916, p 14
Charles Edgar MAKEHAM was born on 24 September 1893 in Wellington. He was the eldest child and only son of Charles Samuel and Margaret (née Jackson) Makeham who had married in December 1891. Charles senior was a carpenter. Charles had a sister, Elizabeth (Lizzie) who was born in 1897.
The family lived at 16 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn and Charles and Lizzie both attended Brooklyn School. At the age of 12 Charles won a scholarship to Wellington College where he stayed until the age of 15. While at Wellington College, Charles was a keen debater as well as a sportsman playing cricket and soccer. He continued with both of these sports after leaving school, and became Treasurer of the Brooklyn Football Club in 1913.
The family attended the Brooklyn Baptist Church and in 1908 Charles won 1st prize in the Baptist Sunday School examinations, Division IV with a mark of 89. His sister won 2nd prize in her division in the same year.
On leaving school at the age of 15 in 1909, Charles passed the Junior Civil Service examinations and went to work at the Public Trust Office in Wellington. He continued to study commerce after leaving school and in 1913 he passed 5 subjects in the examinations. By December of 1914 he had passed 4 subjects in the Victoria University Registered Accountants Diploma.
On 28 April 1915 Charles enlisted as a member of No.5 Group (Wellington City and Suburbs) in C Company 1st Battalion Trentham Regiment, or as it was gazetted on 27 May 1915, it was to be known with effect from 1 May 1915 as the 1st New Zealand Rifle Brigade (NZRB), also known as ‘The Dinks’, a nickname probably derived from the expression “fair dinkum”.
Charles was described at his medical exam undertaken by Dr Henry Lionel Hughes Steele, Willis Street, Wellington on 19 April 1915 as being 5 feet 8½ inches tall, weighing 9 stone 10 lbs (58 kgs). Charles had a dark complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. He was a civil servant/accountant with the Public Trust and he gave his religious profession as the ‘English Church’ which is interesting as he was an active member of the Brooklyn Baptist Church. His medical examination showed he had an appendix scar from an operation four years previously; he had no fits; his hearing was normal; his eyesight was acceptable as he wore glasses, and his teeth were described as ‘sufficient.’ Charles’s ‘apparent’ and ‘declared’ age on enlistment was 21 years. He was designated a rifleman and given the regimental number 23/818. No doubt because of his academic qualifications and his previous military experience before enlisting as a member of the Garrison Artillery No. 3 Company he was made a Sergeant.
Charles trained at Rangiotu (near Palmerston North), Featherston and Trentham camps with the 1st NZRB. He was inoculated against typhoid on 6 and 13 June 1915. He was medically checked again on 20 September 1915 at the NZRB camp at Rangiotu like the rest of his Company, and he was confirmed as fit for active service overseas.
Charles embarked for Suez from Wellington in convoy on HMNZ No 30 Maunganui on 10 October 1915, as a member of the 1st Battalion New Zealand Rifle Brigade, C Company. Other ships in the convoy were Tahiti, Aparima, Navua and Warrimoo. They had no escort of warships, and fortunately the voyage was uneventful.
The convoy went via Albany (arrived 5 pm on 19 October 1915), where it separated, the Tahiti, Aparima, and Navua proceeding to Suez via Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), while the Maunganui and the Warrimoo called at Freemantle for coaling.
The Equator was crossed on 4 November 1915, and four days later, Cape Gardafui, the north-eastern point of Africa, was sighted and the Red Sea was traversed.
Although Charles’s journey was fairly uneventful, one significant event would have stood out. Private ‘Gordon’ Jefferis died of typhoid fever on the Warrimoo on 2 November 1915 and the Maunganui stopped along with other transports for the burial at sea the same day. [i]
Charles is mentioned in ‘The Periscope,’ the Maunganui's magazine, where he is recorded in the Nominal Roll as a member of C Coy. He also participated in a concert and tug of war competition to identify which company best entertained the troops.
At 7.15 am on 14 November 1915, the Maunganui arrived at Suez but the troops were not allowed to go ashore until the following day,[ii] so it was 15 November 1915 before the 1st Battalion NZRB, including Charles, disembarked and entrained for the Aerodrome Camp, about six miles from Cairo.
At the camp a strict training regimen was instituted to harden the men after their five week sea voyage. Training lasted four weeks and six days until 19 December 1915 when Charles along with C Coy and B Coy of 1st NZRB were despatched from Alexandria on HMS Clematis as part of the Western Frontier Force based at Mersa Matruh, a village, harbour, and fort about 200 miles west of Alexandria[iii]. Thee they took part in fighting against the Senussi, a Sahara based tribe of Arab (puritanical) Muslims who had been ‘persuaded’ by the Germans and the Turks to attack the British forces in the West of Egypt to allow the Turks and Germans to attack the British forces in the East (from Palestine across the Suez Canal). In 1915 the Senussi were pro Turkish and very anti-British. They had been using guerrilla tactics against the French and the Italians in Libya in the early 1900’s, and used the same tactics against the British forces in Egypt from November 1915 until February 1917 when peace with them was established.
Charles spent just over eight weeks on this operation. Initially work was carried out to strengthen the fort and its environs but by mid December 1915 Charles and his Company were in action and under fire for the first time, and along with British, Indian and Australian troops forced the Senussi to retreat. However, the harsh reality of war must have hit Charles hard when a number of 1st NZRB men were killed on Christmas day including men from C Company. Charles attended their burial services.
On 25 December 1915 Charles was promoted to Quarter Master Sergeant (QMS), as a result of the promotion of C Company Sergeant Major Frank Bernard Williams, 23/955. There is little doubt that Charles’s promotion was a direct result of proving his organisational abilities while on duty at Mersa Matruh. As Quartermaster his job was to coordinate, warehouse and plan a variety of stores and equipment essential to keeping the Army units functioning at full efficiency in the field.
During the period 2 – 21 January 1916 Charles and the Battalion were employed on outpost duty, construction work, or engaged in training and route-marching. Charles though was again in the firing line on 22 January 1916. Although this fight was successfully concluded on 25 January 1916 with 200 of the enemy killed and 500 wounded the 1st NZRB incurred one death in action and two officers and 30 other ranks were wounded. Compared to what Charles would face on the Western Front this was a very light skirmish with minimum fatalities as noted by the Auckland Weekly News in January 1916.
With the power of the Senussi broken the 1st NZRB received orders on 26 January 1916 to leave Mersa Matruh for Ismailia, being relieved by a battalion of the South African Brigade. Charles left Mersa Matruh on 18 February 1916 and disembarked at Alexandria where he and the battalion spent just over six weeks. The first 10 days were taken up with resting, refitting and training at the Matras Rest Camp and they rejoined the Brigade at Moascar on 29 February 1916 where it remained until it left for France in early April.
At the end of March 1916 Charles received his two para-typhoid inoculations, and on 1 April 1916 he received, along with the rest of his Battalion, the new five shot charger-loading, short Magazine Lee–Enfield (M.L.E) rifle.[iv]
The Battalion finally embarked for France from Alexandria on the Arcadian on 6 April 1916, and on arriving in Marseilles the train trip to the Western Front battle zone took three days. Charles would have noticed as he progressed north green countryside showing the early signs of spring. He also, for the first time, like the rest of the men, experienced being billeted in farm houses and other buildings as opposed to living in huts or tents.
On arrival in the battle zone a period of further training followed to guarantee maximum fitness for the tasks ahead, and flannelette gas-helmets were issued. A training system for officers and other ranks also ensured that men were kept up to date in all aspects of military developments, such as the newly enhanced trench mortars. This training system was to ensure the troops performed with greater efficiency and effectiveness on the front lines.
On 1 May 1916 the NZRB marched eastwards 18kms from Steenbecque to billets in Estaires. On this night Charles had his first experience of a gas alarm which although false would have firmly established in his mind that he was now in the battle zone. While he could hear the artillery and the machine guns the Western Front in this sector was ‘quiet’ and described as a ‘nursery’ sector in comparison to the Ypres Salient to the north. Charles’s time at Estaires was occupied with training and fatigues.
On 9 May 1916 Charles and his Brigade marched back 16kms, to Morbecque, to receive further training in musketry, the Lewis and Vickers gun and bombing techniques. However, the action was about to heat up for Charles and the NZRB. On 13 May 1916 the Brigade marched to Doulieu (5kms due north of Estaires) and on the night of 22/23 May 1916 Charles and the NZRB commenced its first tour of duty in the trenches in France, taking over the lead part of the Ypres Salient, 6,000 yards due east of Armentieres, in the Epinette sub-sector. The German trenches lay for the most part 200 or 300 yards distant, but in some places only 60 yards across No Man’s Land. A large proportion of the NZRB activities were spent in supplying working parties for the trenches. These required constant upkeep and improvement.
Charles and C Company at this time spent a large amount of time in reserve, either in the trenches of the subsidiary line or in ‘Quality Street’ trenches. As a QMS he would have been busy dealing with the rations and supplies that came from Houplines ( a small village on the eastern fringe of Armentieres) via a tramway running along Australia Avenue. When the tramline was damaged by shell fire Charles would have organised carrying parties to redistribute supplies dumped near the junction of Willow Walk and Japan Road.[v]
While at Armentieres Charles was billeted in an abandoned factory and a school. Nearby were the Divisional Baths for the men's use at Pont de Nieppe, west of Armentieres on the high road to Bailleul, through which clean underclothing was issued. These baths, rented at 1,000 francs per month, were located in buildings that once formed part of a textile factory and had been used for bleaching and dyeing. 1,500 men a day bathed and 40,000 garments a week were washed and mended by 200 women employed by the Division.
In early September 1916 Charles along with the Brigade marched 75 kms south to Fricourt Camp, east of Albert, arriving 9 September 2016. From here they were deployed to the ‘big push’ on the Somme 14 – 15 September 1916. Charles survived unscathed, but on 19 September while with the Brigade in reserve and under heavy rain he was wounded by a gunshot wound to his left wrist and the next day admitted to the 18th General Hospital in Camiers (near Etaples). He was discharged on 26 September 1916 and marched into No.6 Convalescent Depot at Camiers[vi]. Charles recovered from his slight wound and marched into the NZI & GBD[vii] at Etaples on 29 September 1916 where he undertook light duties relevant to his QMS experience. He rejoined the NZRB on 11 October 1916 at Outtersteene, midway between Morbecque and Doulieu, where the Brigade had been returned to its northern operations area. The Brigade were billeted for a rest after participation in the Somme battle.
The rest period however, did not last long and Charles along with his Brigade, during the night of 13th/14th October 1916, relieved the 55th and 56th Australian Battalions on the line, 2,500 yards in length south of the Bois Grenier Sector, just to the south of Armentieres. Here Charles and the rest of the Brigade received the new small-box (gas) respirators (SBR).
On 25 October 1916 the 1st and 2nd Battalions were relieved in the line by the 3rd and 4th, and went to nearby billets at Fleurbaix and Bac St. Maur. On the morning of the 31 October 1916 Charles would have attended an award’s ceremony for officers and other ranks in connection with raids and the engagements in Egypt and on the Somme, which was attended by Hon. W F Massey, Prime Minister, and Sir Joseph Ward, who had been in London attending an Imperial Conference.
By now Charles must have thought about his next career move in the army. He had obviously worked out that the most serious deficiency in the army was the lack of men with field experience who could lead and command, both as officers and NCOs. Receiving an officer’s commission in the field, although possible, was highly unlikely, and the only way to achieve this goal was to apply for Cadet Officer training. He was the correct age (i.e. over 18½), he had a solid New Zealand academic record, and had relevant active military service. Hence he received a nice Christmas present when on 24 December 1916 he was selected for training in the Officers’ Training Corp in England. Within a few days he was en route to Trinity College, Cambridge, via Etaples and Codford where he arrived on 1 January 1917 and was taken on strength and posted to A Company. While in Cambridge Charles was in A Company No.5 Officers Cadet Battalion, and he started his training course on 3 January 1917.
During the 3 months 22 days training at Cambridge Charles and the other Officer Cadets studied military strategies and tactics. However, their training did not just have a military focus, as men like Charles were taught how to behave like a gentleman, and ‘walk and talk’ like an officer as opposed to being like any ordinary rank soldier. Officer Cadets were taught that in order to lead they must be willing to serve and that their first and most important job was to get to know their men and look after them. Charles and the other Cadets were taught “to lead, to command, to influence, and to inspire.”[viii]
They also enjoyed a busy social life, safe from the trials and traumas of action on the front line. On his promotion to 2nd Lieutenant on 25 April 1917, Charles was struck off strength from the Officer Cadet Battalion (OCB) Cambridge and taken on strength at Headquarters London where he became supernumerary to establishment and on 10 May 1917 he was placed on the New Zealand Roll and seconded for duty for return to New Zealand to prepare New Zealand conscripts for active service.
The New Zealand government had realised that with the second division conscription of new troops, including married men, in mid to late 1917, experienced and trained officers were needed to ensure that creditable and sound leadership was provided for all drafts leaving the country. The system of reinforcement commissions was an attempt to ensure that lessons learned on the front line were current and transferred to new troops during initial training in New Zealand by experienced men like Charles. He had become a valuable resource and part of a system providing such experience and leadership.
While waiting for passage to New Zealand Charles was attached to the strength at Sling Camp on 17 May 1917 where he could share his front line experiences with newly arrived troops, and reinforce the training he had received at Cambridge. After more than 2 months at Sling Camp Charles embarked from Plymouth (21 July 1917) for New Zealand on the HMNZT No 113 Arawa.
The news of Charles’ impending arrival back to NZ broke in a number of NZ newspapers in early September 1917 (although reporting was not completely accurate):
Mr. C. S. Makeham, of Brooklyn, has received notification that his son, Lieut. Chas E. Makeham, is returning to New Zealand on duty, and will probably reach Wellington towards the end of the present month. Lieut. Makeham left New Zealand two years ago as a sergeant in the Rifle Brigade, and saw several months' active service in Egypt against the Senussi and other tribesmen before proceeding to France. He went through the Battle of the Somme in September last unhurt, but was wounded immediately afterwards by shell-fire. Subsequently he was selected to go into training as a Military Cadet, and for several months pursued his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained his commission.[ix]
When Charles arrived on the Arawa on 24 September 1917 he was granted three weeks ‘privilege’ leave for rest and recuperation by a Medical Board conducted by Colonel James Purdy, Director Medical Services, and Colonel Joseph Christie, Inspector of Military Hospitals. Charles was one of 24 newly commissioned New Zealand officers returning on duty. The other servicemen on board had been invalided back to NZ.
Charles arrived in Wellington on 25 September 1917 and he was no doubt delighted to be at home with friends and family.
Charles’s first social engagement was to act as Best Man for his mate, 2nd Lieutenant ‘Syd’ Probert, on 3 October 1917 at St. Albans Church, Muritai, Eastbourne. Charles and ‘Syd’ had been in the same Cadet Officer Training Battalion and both returned as reinforcement commissions to New Zealand on the Arawa.
On 16 October 1917, with his period of leave over, Charles reported for duty at Trentham where he was posted to D Coy 34th Reinforcements as a 2nd Lieutenant.
On Christmas Day 1917, with the encouragement and support of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, the Brooklyn Baptist Church and the Brooklyn Methodist Church members expressed appreciation for the work of the merchant service by inviting all seamen in port to a high tea followed by games and entertainment. Charles and his sister Lizzie were part of the musical programme that entertained about 70 men. On Boxing Day, the entertainment for the merchant sailors continued at a picnic held at Seatoun Park.
Life for Charles back in NZ sadly was not without reminders of death. During his time at Trentham Camp several men committed suicide, there was an outbreak of measles (blamed on 34th and 35th Reinforcement men taking leave over Christmas and reintroducing it to the camp), and deaths from cerebral meningitis. On 5 February 1918 Charles, along with a large number of 35th Reinforcements officers and men attended the funeral at Karori Cemetery of Lieutenant Roland Quinn, 5/564, a popular member of the 35th Reinforcements who died of cancer in the Victoria Military Hospital Wellington.[x]
On 12 February 1918 Charles received his formal commissioning parchment[xi] and his time at home ended and once again he left to rejoin the fighting. On 2 March 1918 he departed Wellington as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 35th Reinforcements, D Company on HMNZT No 101 Tofua. The journey to Suez took five weeks and on disembarkation at Suez on 8 April 1918 Charles and his men were marched into the Australian Camp at Suez. The stay in Egypt was brief - three weeks was only just long enough to reorganise for undertaking a circuitous route to the UK, necessary because of concerns about German submarine activity.
Charles and the 35th Reinforcements travelled by steamer to Marseilles from Alexandria, were put on trains to Le Havre, and from there sailed to Southampton, proceeding from there by train to Brocton camp in Staffordshire, 35kms north of Birmingham, where the New Zealand Rifle Brigade was based.[xii] They remained at Brocton for further training for 2 months 23 days, departing finally for France on 7 August 1918.
As this was Charles’s second tour of duty he was familiar with the Western Front. No doubt he would have been confident that with his previous military experience, training and in a leadership role his contribution on this occasion would be significant.
In August 1918 it looked like the war might end. Charles would have noticed that the weather was dryer on this tour than it had been in 1916 and he would have been buoyed by the thought that the Germans looked like they could be defeated. However, the fighting was just as vicious this time round, and at this stage the Germans seemed as if they were not going to give up easily.
On 11 August 1918 Charles joined the 3rd NZ Entrenching Battalion and over the next five days familiarised himself with the battle field prior to transferring to 4 Battalion 3 NZRB D Company on 15 August 1918. He was based near Havrincourt, a small village about 35 kms east of Albert from where Charles had fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
By early September 1918 the Germans occupied the heights of the Trescault Spur north of Havrincourt and the trenches behind the Canal du Nord. These strongly held positions had to be taken before a final attack on the Hindenburg Line could be launched, and it was into this battle that Charles, as an officer in D Company and the 4th 3rd Battalion of the NZ Rifle Brigade, were placed. The weather while initially fine was very cold and windy. A fierce battle raged from 7 to 12 September 1918. German machine guns, heavy artillery, gas attacks, and fierce hand to hand combat dominated the fighting. By 12 September heavy rain was added to the mix.
The Battle of Havrincourt on 12 September was when three divisions of the Third Army attacked the village of Havrincourt: the 62nd Division, New Zealand Division and 37th Division. This battle was the first time that the Hindenberg Line was pierced. General Herbert Hart in his diary described the fighting as follows “there was more close fighting …. than our Division has experienced since Gallipoli, and many very gallant deeds were performed during the day.” [xiii]
Lieut Col W S Austin further stated: “We had opposed to us fresh troops from two of Germany's finest Divisions, including the Jägers, specially brought in to hold this important ground; and, all things considered, the achievement of the Brigade in securing the greater part of the line of vantage on the crest of Trescault Spur was one of which we had no small reason to be proud.” [xiv] The victory was not particularly showy or impressive but it highlighted a growing lack of fighting spirit among the German soldiers on the Western Front.
On the night of 12 September 1918 General Hart wrote in his diary the following sentiments that no doubt would have resonated with all men, including Charles, who experienced the horrors of war:
“How I wished ….. that I could have suddenly been flicked off, to waken up in my home 12,000 miles away, where my darling wife and bairns would be welcoming me back to a home of peace, comfort, love and happiness; where one could enjoy the benefits of a civilised life with its baths, good food; congenial companionship, and a warm bed in which to rest one’s weary bones.”[xv]
Charles Edgar Makeham was one of those who lost their life on the 12th. He had served a total of 3 years and 138 days, starting as a young man of 21, and losing his life only two weeks before he would have celebrated his 25th birthday. His death came less than two months before the war finally ended.
He was initially buried in Havrincourt Wood in an isolated grave 11 miles south east of Bapaume South, and the location of his grave and that he had been killed in action was reported by Rev William Watson. After the Armistice the Commonwealth War Graves Commission added two new areas to the nearby Metz-En-Couture Communal Cemetery to create the British Extension and re-interred men there who had died and been buried near where they fell during the Battle of Havrincourt. Charles was one of those re-interred and his headstone is amongst those of 433 soldiers in the British Extension. His grave is in Plot III, Grave no. 7, and he is amongst the other seven men from 4 Bn3/NZRB who died on the same day.
After notifying Charles’s parents of his death in action, his name and that of his parents were included in a Roll of Honour notice which appeared on page one of the Evening Post on 23 September 1918.
The next day the following article, while not totally accurate, appeared in the Evening Post:
Second Lieutenant C. E. Makeham, who was killed in action on 12th September, was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Makeham, of Ohiro-road, Brooklyn, and was born in Wellington 24 years ago. He was educated at the Brooklyn School, gaining a scholarship at the age of twelve, on which he passed to the Wellington College. He passed the Civil Service examination at the age of 15, and received an appointment in the Public Trust Office. At 21 he became a registered accountant, and then enlisted. He went to Egypt in 1916 in the First Liverpool's Own. There he saw fighting with the Senussi. Proceeding to France, he was promoted to quartermaster-sergeant. He was wounded in the Somme battle in September, 1916. After convalescence he was sent to Cambridge to study for a commission. This he gained in May, 1917, and soon after was posted for home service. He arrived in Wellington in September of last year. Here he became attached to the 35th Reinforcements, and in March 1 of this year proceeded to England via Egypt. He had only been at the front a few weeks when he lost his life. Lieutenant Makeham represented the highest type of young New Zealand manhood. He was highly esteemed by, his fellows in the Public Trust Office. In athletic circles he was a good "sport." In literary circles he was known as a keen debater. He was also a fine church worker, and has left his mark upon "the lives of many of the young people of the Brooklyn Baptist Church, of which he was a member.[xvi]
An “In Memoriam” service was held for Charles in the Baptist Church, Brooklyn on 29 September 1918.
On 10 October 1918, his parents put the following in the Bereavement Notices of the Evening Post:
Mr and Mrs C.S. Makeham sincerely desire to thank all friends for their messages of sympathy in their recent bereavement.
Charles’ campaign medals - the 1914-1915 Star, the British and the Victory medals - Plaque and Scroll were sent to his father who was living in Firth Street Hamilton East in 1921 and 1922 respectively. On 19 December 1918 Charles’ mother, Margaret received a pension from Charles of £26 per annum and on 21 January 1919 this was increased to £52 per annum. While Charles died intestate the Supreme Court of New Zealand granted the Public Trust the responsibility to administer his probate worth a total value of £368.5.5 which was made up from military pay owing, cash, holiday pay, superannuation, and a life policy with National Provident Fund.[xvii]
In 1920 Charles’ sister, Elizabeth, married another Brooklyn man, George Thomas Kellaway[xviii] an accountant who Charles would have known. George’s name is also inscribed on the Brooklyn Memorial, amongst those who served, survived and returned to NZ. He was awarded a Military Cross and was Mentioned in Despatches (MID).
Charles parents, Charles Samuel and Margaret, moved to 29 Firth Street, Hamilton East after the war where his father died aged 59 on 23 December 1926. Margaret then moved to Christchurch and died at Christchurch Public Hospital on 25 November 1928, also aged 59 years.
Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s Charles Edgar Makeham’s death fighting for King and Country was regularly acknowledged In Memoriam newspaper notices from the family.
“Greater love hath no man than this— that a man lay down his life for his friends.”[xix]
[i] Rowland Gordon Jefferis, 8/2957, was a 26-year farmer, single, from Otiake, Otago.
“No. 8/2957, PRIVATE JEFFRIES [sic] ROLAND GORDON,
“D” Company, 7th Reinforcements.
It is with deep regret that we have to record the death of above-named on board H.M.N.Z. Transport No. 34 at 11-15 a.m. on the 2nd November.
The funeral was. held at 2 p.m. on the same day, and as a token of respect, all troops on board H.M.N.Z. Troopship No 30 were paraded on deck, the engines stopped, and the band played the Dead March while the body was committed to the deep.”
Source: The Periscope November 1915 PG 2
“IN MEMORIAM
Pte. Gordon Jeffries, 7th. Reinforcements. Died at Sea November 2nd. 1915.
The judges of the games are deciding a tricky point; excited contestants gratuitously offering a dozen solutions when a hospital Orderly pushes into the ring and whispers to the officers, “Pte Jeffries is dead.” “The sports are postponed!” said Capt. McLean as he raised his cap.
The ship was hushed strangely still when its whole company assembled in the early afternoon to pay a tribute to a departed comrade. In close formation Infantrymen and Ambulance were assembled round the Chaplains [Captains W Grigg 18/15/ Walter McLean 18/17] and the officers who stood beside the bier. The brief, impressive service over, in solemn silence, as the ship slowed down, the remains of Pte. Jeffries were committeed [sic] to the deep Three times the shots rang out. Pipes & Bugles sang their requieum [sic] and over the waste of waters, resounded, sang the soldier’s mournings [sic] for a soldier’s death.
To our late comrade’s family in New Zealand, and to his brother here on board with us and to the members of his company we tender our sincerest sympathy. He who has gone from us has given his life for his country. “Greater love hath no man than this— that a man lay down his life for his friends.””
Source: The Warrimoo Gargle PG 7
His parents Rowland and Mary Jefferis had four sons, two of whom lost their lives in WW1 – Rowland and a younger brother Corporal Ralph Stanley Culling Jefferis, 8/2956, MM (awarded 21/2/17) who was killed in action on 4 October 1917 at Passchendaele. Rowland and Ralph were members of the 7th Reinforcements both on board the Warrimoo. Another son Bombardier Norman Hall Jefferis, 50853, survived the war; and another son tried to volunteer but was rejected as he was too young.
[ii] Source The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade p 19 http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-NZRi.html
[iii] The road and railway line connecting Alexandria from the area were considered unsafe and so access to the fort was facilitated by fast sea transport notwithstanding the threat of enemy submarines or storms.
[iv] At Mersa Matruh during the Senussi Campaign the Battalion was armed with the out of date Mark I Lee Enfield.
[v] Trenches, roads, junctions and other features were given names to assist with way finding and identification.
[vi] Convalescent or Command Depots were half way houses for sick or wounded men who no longer required hospitalisation but were not yet fit to rejoin their units.
[vii] New Zealand Infantry and General Base Depot
[viii] Henry Montagu Butler (2 July 1833 – 14 January 1918) Master of Trinity
[ix] PERSONAL MATTERS Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 55, 3 September 1917, Page 8
[x] Roland Martin Quinn, 5/564, Army Service Corps died aged 46 years 5 months. He was born in India (29 August 1871) and was a professional soldier serving on the Western Front when, following a kick from a horse, he was operated on for carcinoma of the tongue. An operation removed part of his tongue and he was evacuated to NZ. Unfortunately, this condition reoccurred in his neck and he died after another operation. He was married to Margaret Rose (nee O’Neill) at Lucknow India on 21 July 1894. A description of the funeral is in the Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 31, 5 February 1918, Page 8.
[xi] A formal document issued to appoint a named person to high office or as a commissioned officer in a territory's armed forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_(document)
[xii] The Brocton Camp on Cannock Chase took its name after the village of Brocton and the railway station was a half a mile from the camp. This NZ camp comprised about 100 acres and it was considered nicer than Sling camp although the training was very similar to that at Sling Camp such as formal drill, protection against gas, wiring, construction of trenches, bayonet-fighting, physical training, musketry, tactical schemes, and all-night occupation of trenches. Interestingly as the war progressed so did multi skilling men to become specialists as Lewis-gunners, signallers, scouts and bombers to mitigate the impact of casualties in the ranks. Brocton camp was termed “Tin-Town" because of the tin huts which were roomy, lit with electricity, and warmed with a centrally placed coal-stove. The men took great pride in the camp and men’s subscriptions ensured that it had its own cinema, billiard tables and pianos for entertainment. Market gardens were also cultivated to ensure a ready supply of fresh vegetables for food. Close to the camp was a POW camp holding about 3000 Germans.
[xiii] Brigadier General Sir Herbert Ernest Hart KBE, CB, CMG, DSO, VD (13 October 1882 – 5 March 1968) The Devil’s Own War Edited by John Crawford Exisle 2008 pg. 252
[xiv] Lieut Colonel William Semmens Austin 23/2 (28 March 1871 - 31 August 1931) The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade Chapter XVI., pg. 391 http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-NZRi-t1-body-d16.html
[xv] The Devil’s Own War Edited by John Crawford Exisle 2008 pg.253
[xvi] WHILE DOING THEIR DUTY Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 74, 24 September 1918, Page 7 CASUALTIES AT THE FRONT
[xvii] Source: Archives NZ AAOM W3265 6029 Box 407 Record Number 28028. This comprised £51 5 4 cash in bank, £25 1 9, Holiday pay, £63 16 10, Superannuation money, and £215 1 Life Policy, £13 – 6 National Provident Fund. TOTAL £368.5.5.
[xviii] George Thomas Kellaway, 4/1701, MC MID. In WW1 George served with the Signallers as a Lieutenant, and he also served in WW2, rising to the rank of Major.
[xix] John 15:13