Charles David Hebenton enlisted in the 13th Field Ambulance on the 23rd August 1940 at the Drill Hall in Bazaar Terrace, Perth, Western Australia. He was born on the 19th October 1915 to Charles William and Kathleen Marylawa Hebenton in Simla, West Bengal where his father was an assistant in the Army Headquarters. More recently he had been working as a shop assistant and was in good physical condition as he was deemed fit for Class I.
He did not commence training until the following year and in the meantime he married Ruth Irvine in Perth on the 18th September 1940. Ruth Irvine was born on the 9th July 1920 and was a great-granddaughter of Thomas and Ann Stone.
After training at the Melville Army Camp Charles was classified as a Nursing Orderly T G III on the 1st August 1941. He was appointed Lance Corporal on the 30th January 1942 and promoted to Corporal in May 1942.
In May 1943 he left Western Australia for Queensland but it is not clear what was his immediate destination. However he was in Townsville in September 1944 where he embarked on the “Katoomba” and finally arrived on Thursday Island where he joined the 6th Australian Camp Hospital.
Originally the pre-war civilian hospital the building was taken over in 1942 by the Army who built a new ward and operating theatre as well as upgrading the existing equipment. It had a capacity of 67 beds and a nursing staff of nine sisters.
Charles left Thursday Island on the 7th September 1944 and arrived back in Western Australia on the 19th November. He was discharged from the Army on the 8th December 1944. He had served in the CMF for 1052 days, including 73 days on Thursday Island.
