Charles George Compton was born in the Broadwater area of Worthing, West Sussex in 1882. One of five children, his parents were Charles and Eliza Compton. Charles Sr was a shoe maker, but when he finished his schooling, his son found work as a bricklayer.
There is little detailed information about Charles’ early life, but in 1901 he married a woman called Lilian. They went on to have three children, and, by the time of the 1911 census, they had set up home at 47 Newland Road, Worthing.
Charles sought to make a better life for his family, and, on 31st January 1913, he boarded the SS Osterley, bound for Australia. He set up home at 1 Orange Lane, in Norwood, a suburb of Adelaide, and, at some point soon afterwards, Lilian and the children joined him.
War was declared in the summer of 1914, and the Empire was called on to play its part. On 28th March 1917, Charles enlisted, becoming a Private in the Australian Infantry. His service papers show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, and weighed 154lbs (69.9kg). He was noted as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a medium complexion. He had two tattoos: one on his left forearm and another on his left hand.
After a few months’ training, Private Compton’s unit boarded the HMAT A30 from Adelaide, to make the journey back to Britain. His unit – the 10th Training Battalion – disembarked in Plymouth on 25th August 1917, and made its way to Larkhill Camp on the edge of Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
Over the next few months, Private Compton undertook further training, and would be transferred to the 43rd Battalion of the Australian Infantry. On 30th May 1918 he was admitted to Hurdcott Hospital, near Fovant, Wiltshire, suffering from influenza. The condition would eventually prove fatal: Charles passed away on 2nd July, at the age of 36 years old.
There was another Military funeral locally on Saturday.
The deceased soldier in this case was Private Charles George Compton, and the place of interment was the Cemetery at Broadwater. Private Compton, a member of an old Worthing family… was a member of the Australian Force…
The deceased worked for the Corporation before leaving Worthing for Australia, where his wife and two children are now living.
[Worthing Gazette: Wednesday 10th July 1918]
Charles George Compton was laid to rest in Broadwater Cemetery, not far from where his family were still living.
(from findagrave.com)
Lilian was now thousands of miles from home and family. Grieving the loss of her husband, the communication from the Army on his passing would provide her with some comfort:
Thanking you for all your kindness in sending my husband things on to me. You don’t know how greatefull I feel when I received letters saying how kind the nurses all were to him through his illness. All I wishes I could have been their, but it was not to be. I now close thanking you all.
[Letter to battalion: 14th January 1919]
Lilian would move to Lincoln Street, Adelaide: her new home she would name Worthing after her home town.
Death and Service 