Charles M. McKinley

Poster

Diary Entry

Dear Diary,

I have just arrived here in France and already I can tell that the recruitment was a lie. The weather is horrible. Since being here I have seen nothing but rain. The gunfire does not stop and the war is at a stalemate. Everyone who comes into the tents or to east is sweating with bruises all over their body. They all complain of ‘trench legs’ because the trenches are quagmires filling up with the torrents of rain. It is also so crowded in here. Since my Battalion arrived there’s 6 people to a 4 man tent just to fit us all in. It is a struggle just to get to the other side of the trenches where there is food. It takes at least 30 mins plus all of the ducking from gunshots and grenades. There is disease everywhere especially famine, dysentery and some people even have smallpox. The food is horrible. Every day is the same. Rations of bread, and stuff to go on the bread. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, all the same. There is barely any medical treatment. If you are near enough to dying, the doctors just let you go and when I say doctors I mean unqualified men who can stick a needle in your arm. The supplies are very low and when a new shipment arrives it is depleted very quickly. These days all I do is wake up, eat a horrible breakfast and then set to work in the trenches trying to win and unwinnable war. Then sit down to an even worse dinner and get about three hours sleep. Then I start all over again. It is a horrible life that goes on and on and on. It is completely different to the recruitment poster. Nobody enjoys it here as well. The only positive I can take is that I cannot like it with someone else. I hope it ends soon.

Sincerely, Private Charles M. McKinley, 41^st Battalion, Infantry Division, AIF

Soldier Profile

Soldiers Full Name: Charles McKinley

Soldier's Service Number: 2616

Date of Birth: 23 April 1876
Place of Birth: Albion Park, NSW                           

Address: Gurrumbah via Cairns, Queensland

Religion: Roman Catholic

Appearance:  No known height.
                        134 pounds
                        Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, Fair Complexion
                        Required dental treatment.

Occupation: Miner

Marital Status: Not married.

Date of Enlistment: 26 September, 1916

Place of Enlistment: Cairns, Queensland

Age of enlistment: 40 years. 5 months.

Did they survive the War: No.

How did they die: Killed in Action.
Date of Death:  5 October 1917.

Sources

 Primary 

An assortment of national archives documents.

"Charles McKinley." National Archive: Army-WW1. 4/9/11. http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NameSearch/Interface/ItemDetail.aspx

Secondary

An assortment of other websites.

"Charles McKinley-Details."The AIF Project. 5/9/11. http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/showPerson?pid=201332 

"Roll of Honour-Charles McKinley." The Australian War Memorial. 6/9/11. http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/roll_of_honour/person.asp?p=489844

Letter Home

Dear Mum,

I really miss you. It is starting to get horrible here. Winter has come and gone. Our trenches became swimming pools of mud with the amount of rain we got. They were like quagmires. Every one of us agreed that the war is hopeless. Every time someone dies they seem to ship over a 1000 new privates. I am still a private. At least I’ve got friends in my battalion (41^st). There is no decent food and no decent weather. I hope summer brings a change. When I first arrived I was pumped for some fun and some German bashing but now it just seems hopeless. I have been here two and a half years and barely anything has changed since I got here. I hear the stories of those who survived Gallipoli and wish I could have been there. At least the Turks seem nice, sharing food and stuff. The Germans are just ruthless. They have no feeling or emotions. Just killing and winning. I know that we are willing to surrender but the General wants to sign an armistice so that Britain doesn’t get invaded and Germany rules the world. I feel like Germany will never sign an armistice so I may be here for a while if I don’t die first. The trench warfare is horrible but is pleasant compared to our recreation time. The food is crap and I am grateful that we are on rations. The barracks are overcrowded and there is nothing to do but here the gunfire, watch the horrible weather and hear the screams and shouts of the hospital ward just around the corner. I know I have been writing to you a lot recently but it is the only positive thing I look forward to now. I will write to you soon. Please send a reply.

Love Your Son, Private First Class Charles M. McKinley 41^st Battalion, Infantry Division, AIF