Charles Wilson was 17 years old when he volunteered for service in WWI, although he claimed a birth date that made him appear 20.
After training at Trentham, he was directed to D Company 1st Battalion NZ Expeditionary Force and embarked on the Maunganui in October 1915, bound for Egypt.
When he was discharged in July 1919, he was 21 years old and had served four years and 63 days, during which he lost most of his close friends and his brother William to the conflict. He had risen from Rifleman to sniper and Scout Sergeant, then become a commissioned army officer and received a Distinguished Conduct Medal for consistent gallantry and devotion to duty.
Wilson began farming in Te Teko in July 1921, beginning a lifelong career with the sector. He played a fundamental role in the Rehabilitation Board, helping to settle over 16,000 servicemen on farms post WWII through to the early 1970s.
More about Charles Robert Wilson
No trail of bitterness - A biography of Charles Robert Wilson OBE, DCM; Walter Gibbons, 2003.
ISN 0-473-09695-1
These items are not currently available online, we're in the process of moving our online collection. If you have any questions about items in our collection related to Charles Robert Wilson, please don't hesitate to contact us.
