Private
Forbes, Charles Arthur Wellesley
Unit
1st Canadian Machine Gun Company
Branch
Canadian Machine Gun Corps
Service Component
Canadian Expeditionary Force
Service Number
400863
birth
1893/06/18
Newcastle, Australia
death
1916/06/13
Belgium
grave
Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
Gender
Male
Charles Arthur Wellesley Forbes was born in Newcastle, Australia, on 18 June 1883. It is not known when he arrived in Canada.
A farmer and labourer, Forbes enlisted in the 33rd Canadian Infantry Battalion in London, Ontario, on 11 February 1915. After initial training in Canada, he left for England on SS Scandinavian, embarking in Montréal, Quebec, on 17 July 1915 as part of the 33rd Battalion’s 1st Reinforcement Draft.
In England, Forbes was assigned to the 12th Reserve Battalion before being drafted into the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion (Western Ontario), which he joined in France in late August 1915. Some six months later, on 18 February 1916, he was transferred to the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company.
Forbes was killed in action in Belgium on the last day of the Battle of Mount Sorrel, 13 June 1916. His body was not recovered.
Charles Arthur Wellesley Forbes is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, in Ypres, Belgium.
