Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Melville Macnaghten CMG MiD
Australian Army (Militia)
4th, 9th & 13th Battalions, AIF
By Robert Simpson
Charles Melville Macnaghten was born in Rhutenpore India on 18th November 1879, a son to Melville Leslie Macnaghten and Dora Emily Sanderson. Melville and Dora had been married in Lancing, Sussex, England on 3rd October 1878, before moving to India. Dora was a daughter of Canon Sanderson of Chichester. Charles was the eldest of four children to them. The family spent time in in East Bengal, where Melville ran the family estates, but they returned to England in 1888. Charles had two sisters, Julia Mary Melville (born in 1881 in India) and Cristabel Mary Melville (born in 1890 in London) and a bother Gillichrist Edward Melville (born in 1894 in London). Charles was baptised on 13th December 1879 at Calcutta, St Paul in Bengal presidency. By 1890, the family had moved back to England and the 1891 census showed them living at 31 Warwick Square in St George, London. Sir Melville Macnaghten was the chief of the Criminal Investigation Department of Scotland yard for 14 years, from 1889 to 1913. He claimed to know the inside story of the “Jack the Ripper” crimes, but was disappointed he joined CID 6 months after Jack’s death so “I never had a go at him”. He was the only police commissioner who had arrested a criminal at that time. Two burglars were caught in their house in 1893, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison. In the 1901 census, they were living at 32 Warwick Square. He attended Eton College from 1893 to 1898. Charles was admitted to Trinity College at Cambridge University on 25th June 1898. He matriculated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1901. Charles also apparently served with the Black Watch for a time (some other articles say Suffolk Regiment). He was also a proficient sportsman, excelling at cricket, tennis and football. He went to India and served in the Calcutta Light Horse as a trooper.
In 1903, he arrived in Sydney on a ship coming from India and began to study law. He received his first commission in the New South Wales Scottish Rifles in 1903, and served with that regiment until 1912. He was then appointed Captain of the 25th Infantry and in 1913 was transferred to the 26th Infantry Regiment and was promoted to Major in December. He was area officer in Woolloomooloo from 1910 and “was responsible for the training and discipline of the boys of that area who were liable for service as senior cadets.” This area was in the slums of the Sydney docks. He obtained the assistance of University graduates to help as officers and he taught the boys the rudiments of drill. He quickly made the cadet unit one of the finest, giving them leadership traits which would carry them through WW1. The 25th Battalion Senior Cadets quickly developed a reputation for its soldierly qualities and won many competitions. Charles was involved in a court case involving a deed of separation and a claim for alleged arrears in December 1904, which stretched into March 1905.
On 30th December 1904 Charles married Annetta Nina Thirza (‘Nettie’) Hopcroft in Sydney at the New Unitarian Church in Pitt Street. Annetta had been born in 1876 in Yorkshire, before the family moved to London after the death of her father, sometime between 1882 and 1891 (there is no record for it). Her father was a doctor with a general practice. She had been previously married to Joseph Carlo Aguilar, on 23rd October 1897 at St Mary’s Church Fulham London. He was listed as a 28 year old planter, whose father Charles Aguilar was listed as a gentleman. Annetta’s father, Thomas Fay Hopcroft, was listed as deceased. It is not known what happened to Joseph, the marriage or when she came to Australia. It would seem they had no children. A newspaper article on Charles’s death said “Aided in his private life by a loyal and devoted wife, he passed his law examinations in a remarkably short time, and was duly admitted as a solicitor. There is little doubt that the close and concentrated study of those years adversely affected a highly strung, sensitive temperament.” In June 1904, he commenced his articles with T J Hughes and transferred to A W Hyman in December 1905. Illness delayed his examinations and he was finally admitted into practice in November 1908. Afterwards, he practiced on his own, but in 1913 joined the law firm of Dodd & Richardson. The National Archives of Australia has a file on judgements of the Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on the appeal of Macnaghten verses Paterson, including 3 copies of the judgements in 1907, but it has not been opened. The case was also reported in the newspapers, but not the verdict.
A list of youths were brought before the Court on 12th February 1912 “for having failed, without lawful excuse, to render the personal service required by Part 12 of the Defence Act”. They were proceeded against by “Charles Melville Macnaghten, area officer for No. 25 military district of N.S. Wales”. They all pleaded guilty.
On 9th April 1912, the Governor-General and his wife, who were in New South Wales, entertained Sir Melville and Lady Macnaghten and Mr and Mrs Charles Macnaghten and others for a luncheon. Charles’ parents had come to Australia for a visit, the fact of which was widely discussed in the newspapers. His father retired in 1913 due to ill health. Sir Melville also received a police medal in 1913, for long and exemplary service. Charles was promoted to Major in December 1913. He was practicing law in Sydney when the war broke out, and as soon as he heard, he had booked a passage back to England to join the British Army. But, when he heard an Australian force was being raised, he joined, becoming one of the first officers.
His application for a Commission in the Australian Expeditionary Force showed his educational qualifications were Eton College and a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge. His previous military service was a Private in the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment, a Trooper in the Calcutta Light Horse and was now a Major in the 26th Infantry. A solicitor was his present civil employment and he was a married British Subject. The University Club in Sydney was his postal address. Nina was his next of kin and her address was given as his Father’s address in London. Charles signed the form on 1st September 1914. Captain A H Tebbutt of the AMS signed the medical part of the form to say he was fit and gave his physical details as being 5 foot 10 inches tall, chest measurement of 36 inches, weighed 10 stone and his eyesight was good. Major A J Onslow-Thompson recommended that he be appointed as a Major in the Corps under his command and posted to Headquarters as Second in Command of 4th Battalion, 1st Infantry Brigade AIF.
Charles was appointed Second in Command in the 4th Battalion. Many of his regiment in Sydney also joined. His term of service was from 15th August 1914 until 4 months after peace. Before the 4th Battalion left, the Highland Society secured and presented to them a set of bagpipes. The pipes “were very highly appreciated, and did splendid service until they were smashed up by enemy fire on Gallipoli”. He embarked to join the MEF for the Gallipoli campaign on 5th April 1915 on Lake Michigan. After the landing and charge up the hills, the 4th Battalion rested at Bolton’s Ridge. On the 26th, a messenger rushed in and said there was an order for a general advance. Charles advised his CO he would take the left if Lieutenant-Colonel Onslow Thompson would take the right, so they pushed the Battalion into the advance, even though the order did seem strange (it was a mistake and an unplanned attack with no goal). The battalions to either side did not react, so the 4th took full brunt of heavy resistance. Pushing on to Lone Pine, the attack stalled under shrapnel and machine gun fire and someone ordered a retreat. Trying to get some of the men to go forward again, Charles was shot in the chest and then through the throat. He staggered back to the dressing station. While lying there, and upon hearing an officer giving a group of stragglers orders, he rose to his feet and started off with some stragglers, only to collapse. When he awoke he found out his CO was dead and he was in command. He also wrote a note to staff officers telling how the Battalion had been decimated. On 1st May 1915, he was sent to HMTS Itonus with a bullet wound in the jaw and chest. He was admitted to Deaconess Hospital at Alexandria, was transferred on 3rd May to German Hospital and discharged to duty on 4th June 1915 and re-joined his Battalion on the 9th. On 14th July 1915, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and was to command the Battalion.
A record was written that stated that the “good services of the following officers are respectfully brought to notice” and included in the 1st Infantry Brigade “2. LtCol. C. M. Macnaghten commanding the 4th Battalion for his masterful handling of that unit on the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th August. (wounded).” Another record noted on 27th April 1915 at Anzac, he took part in the landing as 2nd in command of 4th Battalion and was wounded. It also said on 6th August 1915 at Lone Pine, he commanded the 4th Battalion in the assault of the position. The Turkish trenches at Lone Pine were heavily fortified and covered with logs for overhead protection. When reached during the charge, bayonets and bare hands were used to raise them so that men could jump in. The battle continued as mainly hand to hand. The Battalion was repeatedly counter-attacked for 4 days until they were temporarily relieved. He was put second in the order of merit for an award. Another recommendation stated he “Commanded his battalion in the attack on LONE PINE on 6th August, and though wounded continued to do so until the 10th August; exhibited great dash and gallantry and distributed his men after the first assault through the intricate trenches to best advantage while re-organising for further attack.” He was listed as 3rd or 4th in order of merit and could not be separated. Another sheet for the 4th Battalion noted he was recommended for the Companion of the Order of the Bath. He was Mentioned in Despatches, which was promulgated in the London Gazette on 28th January 1916 on page 1208, position 59. On 10th August 1915, he was admitted to 2nd Field Ambulance with dysentery and being wounded, and was transferred to Casualty Clearing Station, and then to HMS Neurailia to No. 4 Officers Convalescent Home at Alexandria on 17th August. On 21st August, he was transferred to No. 4 Red Cross Hospital. He embarked for England on HT Marathon on 13th September from Alexandria, where he was admitted to No 3 London General Hospital at Wandsworth on the 24th.
Under the heading of personal notes in The Sydney Morning herald of 5th May 1915, was an entry for Major Macnaghten which said “A private cable message was received yesterday, intimating that Major Charles Melville Macnaghten, of Sydney, was slightly wounded in the Dardanelles action, but is progressing favourably. A newspaper article said he was the first man to land at Anzac Cove, but no proof was supplied. Another paper said he was wounded almost immediately but “carried on”. The next day he received two more wounds and was sent to Alexandria and then England. He returned to Gallipoli only seven weeks after being wounded, and was appointed to command the 4th Battalion. “He led the 4th in their immortal charge at Lone Pine, of which gallant action General Sir Ian Hamilton wrote :- “At the early period of this last counter-attack the 4th Battalion were forced by bombs to relinquish portion of a trench, but later on, led by their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Macnaghten, they killed every Turk who had got in.” His men said later that “the old man was everywhere”. On 7th August, after being exhausted by the constant fighting, a Turkish bomb landed near him, wounding him in the left leg. As he was being taken from the trenches, he was still ordering his men to keep fighting. He was evacuated and spent several months in and out of hospital due to his wounds and sickness. Originally, he was sent to Australian Officers Military Hospital at Alexandria on 16th August and was transferred on 17th August 1915. He was admitted to 4th Convalescent Hospital at Alexandria and transferred on 13th September to HMT Marathon for “change to England”. He was admitted to 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth on 24th September 1915 with dysentery and a shell wound of the left knee and right chest and was discharged on the 25th with an observation of “furlough”. Charles was fit for general service on 19th October 1915, from a nominal roll of the Australian Military Office in London. A Medical Board on that same day, determined that his injury was slight and not permanent and discussed how a shell had burst near him and fragments had struck him on the left knee. He also had dysentery for about a week before the injury, and that had now cleared. There was also no stiffness or swelling in the knee. Charles left England in October to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. He returned to Gallipoli on 6th December 1915 to command the Battalion. A newspaper article also said he was the last to leave during the evacuation (again with no proof). Charles was admitted to the hospital on Mudros with debility from 19th to 21st December. He was admitted to No. 2 Australian General Hospital at Alexandria on 22nd December 1915 with gastritis and debility after disembarking from the HT Dunluce Castle on the same day. On 25th December, he was transferred to duty and re-joined the Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on the 31st.
On 12th January 1915, he was admitted to No. 2 Australian General Hospital at Cairo with insomnia, and discharged to duty on the 15th. While in Egypt, he temporarily did duty as a Brigadier and was appointed camp commandant at Tel-el-Kebir on 1st February 1916. It was announced that the King had rewarded his distinguished service at Gallipoli with the CMG (Companion in The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George) in the New Year’s honours list “for services rendered in connection with military operations in the Field to be dated from 1.1.16”. On 17th March 1916, he was admitted to No. 1 Field Ambulance at Serapeum with P.U.O.U. and was transferred to Australian Casualty Clearing Station on the 19th for admittance to 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis on the 20th with neurasthenia. He was discharged to duty on 13th April. On 19th April 1916, he was admitted to the No. 1 Australian Stationary Hospital at Ismailia with gastritis. He was also admitted to No 3 Australian General Hospital at Abbassia on 12th May with the same condition. His wounds and a fever affected his so much, he was invalided to England (according to a newspaper article). His service records have no mention of this, he was discharged at Alexandria by a Medical Board Hearing, which stated he had neurasthenia and was “incapacitated for military duty until after a trip to Australia and back”. He sought to return to his Battalion, but the doctors refused and he was eventually sent back to Australia on 10th June 1916 on HT Itonus from Suez; where he was to be second in command of the “Australian Sandhurst.” He was to be the director of Military Academics and part of the Permanent Army at the Royal Military College at Duntroon. After being invalided out and his appointment terminated on 7th September 1916, Charles tried to resume his commission, but was refused on medical grounds. Charles did not like this situation, so he deserted.
He then moved to Queensland, telling no one of this, and enlisted under another name as a Private. Charles described the situation in his own words in a newspaper article “I tried to get on the active list again out there, but it was of no avail, and eventually I decided to slip away and join one of the reinforcement battalions. I got away to Queensland, where, after four attempts – I am a bit lame after Gallipoli – I was enlisted as a private under the name of Charles Melville in the 9th Battalion reinforcements. My one fear was that I would be recognised before getting to France, but I was not, and eventually I found myself in England training with the rest of them on Salisbury Plain. I had been promoted to corporal and one morning on parade the commanding officer, in whom I recognised a fellow-passenger in the hospital ship which brought me to England as a colonel, sang out, Corporal, do you think you could drill this company? Seeing that among other things I had acted as brigadier while in Egypt, I replied I thought I could, and did so. All the time I was trying to get into a draft in France, and at last succeeded, but there I found my identity could not be hidden for long, for I was among officers and men who had known me in Gallipoli, and I was “given away’. General Birdwood, who had known me at Lone Pine, sent for me and gave me a commission. I was invalided to England and the next thing was I received a summons to attend Buckingham Palace in my old rank, as Lieutenant-Colonel to receive the C.M.G., which the King had conferred on me years before.” The article got his alias wrong, he actually enlisted as Ciam Macmilville, Private 7101 with the 23rd Reinforcements of 9th Battalion on 19th October 1916. He said he was living in Adelaide Street Brisbane and listed his wife as “Mrs A Macmilville”, who was living in England. He also gave details of his sister, Julie Donner with an address in Ascot England. Julia Donner was his sister, having married Edward Donner, a leather merchant, in 1904. Charles details were listed as a 38 years old clerk and his religion was Church of England, with his address as GPO Brisbane. He did 3 years as a Volunteer in England with time expired. He was 5 foot 10 inches tall, weighed 135 pounds (another record has 155 pounds), had a chest measurement of 34 to 38 inches, and had a fresh complexion with blue eyes and brown hair. Originally, he needed further dental treatment before being passed. He had two inoculations on 20th and 27th October 1916 and a vaccination on 4th November 1916. They departed from Brisbane on 17th November 1916 on HMAT Kyarra and disembarked on 30th January 1917 at Plymouth.
On 14th February 1917, he was promoted to Acting Corporal and to Acting Sergeant on 30th March. He was part of the 2nd Training Battalion from 15th February 1917. He was with the 13th Battalion from 29th March to 22nd April 1917. They proceeded to France on 10th April 1917. On 22nd April, he reverted to Private in the 9th Battalion. The 4th Brigade was cut up at the battle of Bullecourt. Afterwards, Charles was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and was posted to 13th Battalion on 26th April 1917, with which he was involved with the battle of Messines Ridge. He was then hospitalised with a complete nervous breakdown so severe he was deemed unfit to continue his service with the AIF. His regimental conduct sheet had no entries in it.
After his real identity was established, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant, and given orders to return to England for convalescence after being wounded again in June 1917. The article goes on to say he “omitted to mention that he was especially congratulated by his general in France for gallantry at Messines but did not neglect to extol the valor of his men at Gallipoli and across the Channel. “They,” he said, “did everything; I did nothing by comparison.” But the colonel, who is not yet 40 years old, wears four wound stripes, and in the words of one of his battalion, “He is riddled like a colander; it’s only his fighting spirit that keeps him alive.” “That his identity should not be traced when he enlisted as a private he deliberately cut himself off from all his relations, even from his wife, who was nursing in England, for fear that in the censoring of letters his true name and rank might be discovered.” His service records state he was admitted to 2nd Anzac Officers Rest House in Belgium on 3rd July 1917 with debility and posted to his unit on the 17th. On the same day, he was detached to 4th Brigade Headquarters. He was sent to hospital on 22nd July with malaria at Rouen and sent to 8th General Hospital. On 27th, he was sent to Temporary Base and then to Depot on 4th August 1917. He was sent to the 2nd General Hospital with neurasthenia on 4th September 1917, and embarked for England on Grantully Castle on the 5th, where he was admitted to the 4th London General Hospital on the 6th.
A letter was sent to his wife Mrs Annie Macnaghten, c/o Mrs J Donner of Derryquin Sunningdale, Ascot on 10th July, stating 2nd Lieutenant Charles Melville Macnaghten of 13th Battalion had been reported as being wounded on 12th June while serving with the BEF in France, but the “wound was so slight that this officer was able to remain on duty.” He was admitted to 8th General Hospital at Rouen on 24th July 1917 with a slight attack of malaria and discharged on the 27th. A Medical Board at the 4th Australian General Hospital at Denmark Hill in September 1917 reported he was suffering from neurasthenia and was tired and required rest. He also had insomnia, dizziness and headache. Another report stated he was suffering from a complete nervous breakdown. It was caused by the stress of service. According to them, he could do light duty in a month, home service in 3 months and general service in 5 months. A medical certificate, written in October 1917, said he was incapacitated for work for six months from that date and that the Board papers said he was suffering from a complete nervous breakdown, with sleeplessness and loss of memory. He was improving, but was still not good. He still had a limp from the wound in the leg in 1915. Charles resigned from the AIF in England on 10th October 1917 in consequence of being permanently unfit for all services. On the 11th, he signed a form for Base Records which stated “This is to certify that CHARLES MELVILLE MACNAGHTEN, whose signature appears in margin hereof, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the 19th October 1916, was promoted 2nd Lieutenant on the 26th April 1917. He relinquishes his commission in the A.I.F., on the 10th October 1917, in consequence of being permanently unfit for all services.” He filled out a statutory declaration on 19th October that he enlisted as Ciam MacMilville (an alias and assumed name as written in another document) which he declared was incorrect and gave his correct name and that of his wife and her address. Letters were sent to Base Records in Australia to advise of the changes, and to Brisbane. Charles also signed a form that he resigned of his own request in England, he had no claim for a free return to Australia and had been paid his deferred pay. In August 1917, he had previously given his next of kin as his mother, Lady Macnaghten, at 32 Warwick Square in London. They had her address previous to this, as a letter from her, returning a form fully filled out, also requested that in future that any news of her son would not take Base Records four weeks to send to her.
On 27th July 1916, Annetta wrote to Base Records in Melbourne from The Bevan Military Hospital in Sandgate Kent England. The men who were sent to this hospital were loud in their praise of the doctors and the nurses. She thanked them for sending her notification of the entry in the London Gazette for Charles. She said “It was most awfully good of you with all your pressure of work to send me the copy” and “I am most grateful. I hope … he has been able to join his regiment again as he was most distressed at being sent back to Australia.”
Base records sent his wife a notice from the Supplement to the London Gazette of 28th January 1916 relating to his conspicuous service “I have the honour to submit herewith the name of Lieutenant Colonel C. M. Macnaghten, 4th Battalion, whose services I wish to bring to your Lordship’s notice in connexion with operations described in my despatch of 11th December, 1915.”
On 30th June 1916 a list was sent to the Undersecretary, Chief Secretary’s Office in Sydney listing his next of kin as his wife with and address c/o of his father in England. When he was admitted to various hospitals at various times, a note was sent to his mother or his wife, detailing where he was sent and under what condition. There are quite a few of these notes in his service records.
The Scottish Australasian of August 1916 published an article on Charles. The article noted that in the 4th Battalion had about eight hundred Scotsman or men of Scottish descent, who “had the good fortune to be under good Scots as their officers”. The Gallipoli landing was discussed with mention to General Sir Ian Hamilton’s despatches. “Colonel Macnaghten denies that he personally did more than the men who, loving him, followed him wherever he was prepared to lead, in fact, he resents personal credit, yet the men who have fought under him are very emphatic in their opinions.” The article mentioned that his “great Grandfather was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Calcutta, and a member of the Indian Council, his grandfather a Director of the East India Company” and his father as well. It stated that while in India, Charles joined the “volunteer force.” They also said “that the advance of Colonel Macnaghten in the service was singularly rapid, and the work he has done markedly effective.” On his arrival in July, a large number of returned 4th Battalion men met him on the wharf and gave him “an exceedingly warm welcome” and played the battalion march. He also attended an official welcome on 25th July. The article acknowledged his leadership.
His records were borrowed for the Military Secretary and were returned to Base Records on 27th September 1916. A letter was sent from AIF Headquarters in London to the Postal Branch saying that 2nd Lieutenant Macnaghten 13th Battalion had received his discharge from the AIF with effect from 10th October 1917 and that his address was 32 Warwick Square in London. Letters on that date were sent to the Pensions Officer stating he was permanently unfit for all services. His discharge in England was approved. His statement for a war pension claim on 26th October 1917 shows he was to be paid 4 pounds a fortnight and his wife 2 pounds, commencing on 11th October 1917 and to be reviewed on 11th April 1918.
On 28th May 1917, the Australian Headquarters in Egypt sent the AIF Headquarters in London a letter asking where Lieutenant-Colonel C M Macnaghten, late C.O. of the 4th Battalion, was as Thomas Cook & Sons had three packages of his they wished to dispose of. . His mother also wrote a letter on 20th June asking if they could be sent as soon as possible as he needed them; after getting a letter from Records about them. Records let Egypt know which address to send them to on 18th June. They replied that they had collected the packages from Thomas Cook and would send them to Fulham Kit Store to send on to Mrs Macnaghten. Records then let his mother know the parcels would be coming on 26th July. When the three large cases were picked up from Thomas Cook, an inventory was done of them. One case was full of shirts, another had a lot of parcels addressed to various servicemen, mainly in the 4th Battalion and the last one had more parcels and some clothes. Kit Stores then wrote to AIF Headquarters in London saying the cases contained “purely regimental or Government property, and packages of private property belonging to various officers and men, a big percentage of whom are deceased or returned to Australia. It would have been better had Cairo developed some initiative and dealt with the parcels individually when they found out what the cases contained. However, the cases are on their way now and on arrival I will go carefully through the cases and dispose of them according to the contents. It is pretty evident there will be nothing to hand Mrs. McNaughton, and under the circumstances it would be appreciated if Records could be asked to write and inform her accordingly.” A reply to Kit Stores said “I agree with you that it is a pity Cairo did not deal with the parcels individually, but seeing they have not, and that the packages are now on their way to London, it is not worth while drawing their attention to the matter. I would not consider it advisable, however, for Records to write Mrs McNaughton that there will be nothing of a private nature to hand over to her, but the best plan will be for you to communicate with her direct after the goods have been received and you have gone through them carefully.”
In October 1917, Charles was issued with a Silver War Badge from London, the detail on the record stated 2nd Lieutenant Charles M Macnaghten of the 13th Battalion, enlisted on 19th October 1916 and was discharged on 10th October 1917 due to neurasthenia, and he had served overseas. The badge number was A405. He signed for the badge on 19th October 1917 and returned the form to AIF Headquarters in London. His name was also submitted in a list of officers, NCO’s and men by the Ministry of Munitions on 24th February 1919 for the 1914-15 Star. It was noted he was a Major in the Australian Imperial Force 45th Battalion, with the Theatre of War being listed as Gallipoli 25/4/15. He was also on the SWB List Aust. Off. 9. His address was listed as Whitehall Place SW1. He had been classified as a deserter in Australia. Even so, the Department of Defence wrote a letter to AIF Headquarters in London, asking if he intended to return to Australia and resume his militia and cadet appointments.
In 1918, they were living at 32 Warwick Square in the City of Westminster in England. At some stage, Annetta had moved to London during the war. They were staying with his mother in her home at 32 Warwick Square. Charles joined the British Ministry of Labour as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in 1919, a position he used to train British disabled ex-servicemen. He held that appointment until 1927 according to one article, but that must be wrong. A letter from Department of Defence in Melbourne to AIF Headquarters in London was questioning if Lieutenant Macnaghten of the 13th Battalion, who resigned his commission in October 1917, was the same as “Lieut.-Col. C.M. Macnaghton, C.M.G., O.C. 26th Infantry, A.M.F., who deserted from his Unit in Australia when under orders to proceed to Duntroon as instructed. He failed to carry out this instruction and has been missing since 26th September 1916.” They could not find him in Australia and “motion was being taken to declare him a deserter from the A.M.F.” They could not trace Lieutenant Macnaghten in records in Australia until they established his identity as Ciam Macmilville.
Charles sent a reply to Lieutenant-Colonel Bruggy DSO at Australian Headquarters in London on 27th April 1918 saying “Your letters of 18th & 28th March to hand. There is more than one ’C Macnaghten’. Had I been correctly designated in your communications, this delay would not have occurred. The reply to your question is yes.” In July 1918, the Department of Defence wrote to AIF Headquarters in London, asking about Charles resigning his commission and the reasons for doing so, as “they were of an unsatisfactory nature.” They wanted to know that to see if his commission “as Major and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel in the Australian Military Forces shall be continued”. They had also written to him in March and April, asking if he would be returning to Australia to take up his military appointments. On 19th October 1918, a letter was sent to the Secretary of The Department of Defence enclosing the service record and medical board proceedings for Charles, which were the basis for the decision to terminate his service in the AIF.
The Pay Department at Victoria Barracks in Brisbane sent a letter to Base Records, asking for full service records for Charles for all of the Battalions he was in, to answer a query from the Chief Paymaster. On 16th January 1920, Base Records replied with a summary of his two terms of service, including under his assumed name. His oak leaves were sent on 23rd August 1920.
On 12th May 1921, his father passed away. A newspaper article stated he “was equipped for his duties with a marvellous memory” and “he knew the characteristics and histories of practically every man in the Department”. “He was a Knight Commander of the White Military Order of Spain, and a Commander of the Order of Dannebrog.”
Charles boarded the Montclare on 8th December 1922 as a 2nd Class passenger bound for St. John Canada. He gave his address as 129 Tulse Hill London. He was listed as a 43 year old Colonel who intended to make his permanent address in Canada. He went by himself and drifted around until he was employed at the Canadian Pacific Railway in Montreal as an accountant from 1924. A newspaper said he was “broken in health” and that was why he went to Canada.
On 3rd August 1923, Base Records forwarded a sealed communication to his mother’s address in London, and another one on 20th October 1923. The receipt for the certificate of his Mention in Despatches was not signed, so it is not known if he received it, and it has on the form Lieut. Col, 2nd Lieut. C. M. Mcnaughten / 4th Bn. /13th Bn. On 14th September 1923. The certificate was sent to his mother in London with a note asking to acknowledge receipt and post back to Base Records in Australia. The certificate was returned to Base Records unclaimed in December and was forwarded on to the Australian Military Secretary in London for disposal.
His mother passed away on 8th January 1929 in London.
Charles passed away on 4th February 1931 in the suburb of Notre Dame de Grace in Montreal Canada after contracting an illness which developed to pneumonia. He was cremated.
Charles was listed in Who’s Who in Australia, in the section on Companions of the various Orders of Knighthood with the listing MacNAGHTEN, Col. Chas. Melville, C.M.G. He had the nickname of “the galloping Major.” Other articles refer to him as “Fighting Mac”. His name was recorded in the List of Etonians who fought in the Great War 1914-1919. He was described by Charles Bean as “distinguished by a vigorous impetuosity”.
The Sydney Morning Herald in 1931 included these comments of him in an article appreciating his life “Owing in a great measure to ill-health, his military career did not fulfil its early promise. He will always be remembered with admiration and regard by those who knew of his many soldierly qualities.” The writer also said “it seems fitting that some tribute should be paid to the memory of one who, with the best that was in him, served Australia well.”
An article in Reveille of 1st May 1934, written by Captain Charles Robert Duke MC of the 4th Battalion made a few mentions of Charles, who was a personal friend. He had been signed up by Charles and said in the article “his career was almost unique”. He also said “Much to my surprise, Major Macnaghten came aboard wounded just before we left Gallipoli. He had the tip of his chin knocked off and a bullet in the side, but when I had got him settled in a bunk he rolled up his sleeve and said, ’this is what’s worrying me most,’ and there was a large tick buried up to the hilt in his flesh. I got kerosene and eventually dug it out for him.” Captain Duke also discussed the Lone Pine attack, saying “The first thing I saw when I got out of the possie was Col. Macnaghten blowing his whistle and going for his life just ahead of me, and one’s recollections of the charge across 70 or 80 yards of Turkish trenches remain vivid.” He also talked about running out of bombs numerous times and “going up to Macnaghten’s headquarters and imploring him to send us more bombs. He was sitting on a box with his leg on another box. He had been shot through the knee, but was carrying on serenely, refusing to be evacuated.” Charles was also told by Colonel Macnaughten that he proposed to give him a commission, which did not eventuate until later in another Battalion.
Annetta continued to live in London, at Carlton Mansions on Holmleigh Road in Stamford Hill (well certainly in the early 1930’s), and did not remarry. In the mid-1960’s she was living at Abercorn house Hawley near Camberley. She passed away on 4th September 1965 in St Peter’s Hospital Chertsey Surrey. She left her probate of 288 pounds to a Lily Violet Groth, a widow.
Julia passed away on 2nd October 1938 in London, Christabel on 7th August 1974 and Gillichrist on 3rd July 1939 in Somerset. Gillichrist served in WW1 in the 21st London Regiment (1st Surrey Rifles), rising from 2nd Lieutenant to Captain. He was entitled to the standard war trio of medals and the Silver War Badge. He relinquished his commission on 1st March 1919, due to ill health and retained the rank of Captain.
Charles’ medals are CMG, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal with oak leaf.
