Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War I (1914-1918)

Date of Enlistment

29/04/1917

Date of Discharge

13/10/1918

Place of Enlistment

Sydney NSW

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

13/07/1900

Place of Birth

Canberra ACT

Address (at enlistment)

Waverley NSW (previously 'Springvale' Weetangerra/ Weetangera)

School(s) Attended

Weetangerra (Weetangera) School

Occupation

Newsboy

Next of Kin

Archie Hamilton (father), Isabella Street, Waverley NSW

Service Number

5030

Final Rank

Private

Final Unit

33 Battalion AIF

Weetangera Honor Roll; St. John's Schoolhouse Museum, Reid

Hamilton was born on 13 July 1900 in Canberra, probably at 'Tolldale' (the site of which is the O'Connor Tennis Club in Banksia Street), the home of his grandparents. His mother died in 1910 and Colin and his siblings were taken in by their Shumack relatives at 'Springvale'. He went to school at Weetangera while living at 'Springvale'. His father had once been a soldier and asked that his sons be taught sewing at school which Colin later admitted he found useful on the Western Front. At some stage father and children were reunited in Sydney as Hamilton was living there when he enlisted on 30 April 1917.

To join the AIF without parental permission a man had to be 21 years of age but he could enlist if he was aged 18-20 years with the signed consent of his mother, father or guardian. Colin lied about his age attesting that he was 18 years and 1 month when he was actually only 16 years and 9 months old. He probably forged his father's signature as well when he joined up. He embarked from Sydney on 10 May 1917 with the 4th reinforcements for the 30th Battalion and had a hard time on the ship over to England, being 'crimed' five times, mostly for missing parades. He was charged a sixth time in camp in England for missing a parade before being sent to France in February 1918 as a reinforcement for the 33rd Battalion, part of the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Division of the AIF.

When the Germans launched their last major offensive in March 1918 they captured ground the Allies had fought so hard to gain during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The 9th Brigade was rushed to Villers-Bretonneux, a village strategically important to the defence of Amiens, the transport hub of northern France. On 4 April the Germans attacked the village but were repulsed by the 9th Brigade. However, on 17 April, while the troops were resting in a forest west of Villers-Bretonneux, the site was drenched by mustard gas by the Germans and Hamilton was one of the injured.

It was normal procedure that the next of kin was advised when a soldier was wounded so, shortly after his father was told of Colin's whereabouts, AIF Headquarters in London were ordered to send Hamilton home "for discharge under age". By the time he was discharged in Sydney on 13 October 1918 Hamilton had turned eighteen, but his war had ended. After some debate the authorities decided that Colin was eligible for the service medals he had clearly earned.

He married Rose Whitlock in April 1925 and they lived in Sydney where he worked as a tram conductor. During the 1930s Colin served in the militia and he enlisted for service in World War 2 with the RAAF. When he died in Sydney on 4 March 1993, Colin Hamilton became the last of the First World War soldiers on the ACT Memorial to pass away.

Description - height 5 feet 4¼ inches, 124 pounds, chest 31-33 inches, fresh complexion, brown eyes, dark hair, Presbyterian.

Rex Cross, 'Bygone Queanbeyan', 1980
G.A. Mawer, 'When Hall Answered the Call', 2015
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)
Stories from the ACT Memorial, 'Boy Soldier', ACT Heritage Library www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/stories_from_the_act_memorial
National Library of Australia : Country Women's Association of NSW (Canberra Branch) History, 1959 (manuscript call no. NLA MS 734)
Margaret Clough, 'Spilt Milk: A history of the Weetangera School 1875-2004', 2004
Canberra & District Historical Society Newsletter - May 1974, April 2008
Sydney Morning Herald - 6 March 1993