Charles Francis GRIFFITH

Regimental number8/391
Date of birth16 June 1886
Place of birthOrepuki
ReligionRoman Catholic
OccupationFarmer
AddressTe Tua
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation27
Height5' 6"
Weight121 lbs
Next of kinN E Griffith, Te Tua, Wallace
Previous military serviceServed in the 8th (Southland) Regiment, Territorial Force; still serving at time of NZEF enlistment.
Enlistment date18 August 1914
Place of enlistmentInvercargill
Rank on embarkationCorporal
Enlistment statusVolunteer
Unit nameNew Zealand Expeditionary Force, Main Body, Otago Infantry Battalion
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Wellington on 16 October 1914
Members of the Otago Infantry Battalion, Main Body, left Wellington on 16 October 1914 on two ships, HMNZT 9 'Hawke's Bay' and HMNZT 5 'Ruapehu'. From the Nominal Roll it is not possible to determine on which ship an individual embarked.
Final rankCorporal
Final unitOtago Infantry Regiment
FateKilled in Action 2 May 1915
Age at death from cemetery records28
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel No 75), 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.

Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Ellen A. Griffith, Taramoa, Southland, Invercargill, and the late Nelson Eliot Griffith. Native of Orepuki, Southland, Invercargill
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (Gallipoli Campaign), 12 April 1915.

Reported missing, 1-23 May 1915.

Board of Enquiry, held at Moascar Camp, Ismailia, 22 March 1916, concluded: 'Killed in Action, 2 May 1915'.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Miscellaneous detailsNominal Roll Vol. 1: Otago Infantry Batln/Main Body
SourcesArchives New Zealand (Wellington), Agency AABK, Series 18805, File 16789132

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