NX12595 Lieutenant Colonel Charles Groves Wright Anderson, VC, MC

Date of birth	1897-02-12	Cape Town, South Africa
Date and unit at enlistment (ORs)	1914	Private, Kenya Defence Force.
Other	1914 - 1918	Served in East Africa in the 2/3rd King's African Rifles Regiment.
Other	1915	Gunner, Calcutta Volunteer Battalion.
Date commissioned	1916-10-13	Comissioned as a lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Kings African Rifles Regiment.
Date of discharge	1919-02	Demobilised.
Date of honour or award	1919-02-07	Awarded the Military Cross, for his part in the campaign against the German led Askari, in East Africa.
Date promoted	1932	Appointed captain in Kenya Defence Force.
Other	1934	Moved to Australia.
Other	1939-03-03	Joined the Citizen Military Forces and was appointed captain in the 56th Battalion, Riverina Regiment, Australian Military Forces.
Other	1939-10-01 - 1939-10-14	Attended a company commander course at the Command and Staff School, Sydney.
Date promoted	1939-10-26	Promoted to temporary major.
Date and unit at appointment (Officers)	1940-06-01	Enlisted in the 2nd AIF.
Other units	1940-07-25	Seconded as major in the 2/19th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force.
Other	1941-02-18	Arrived in Singapore with the 2/19th Battalion.
Date promoted	1941-08-01 - 1942-02-15	Promoted to acting lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of the 2/19th Battalion.
Date promoted	1941-11-14	Gazetted lieutenant colonel, back dated to 1st August 1941.
Other	1942-01-07	Temporarily relinquished command due to medical reasons.
Date of honour or award	1942-01-18 - 1942-01-22	Awarded the Victoria Cross. 'During the operations in Malaya from the 18th to 22nd Jan 1942, Lieut. Col. ANDERSON, in command of a small Force, was sent to restore a vital position and to assist a Brigade. His Force destroyed ten enemy tanks. When later cut off, he defeated persistent attacks on his position from air and ground forces, and forced his way through the enemy lines to a depth of fifteen miles. He was again surrounded and subjected to a very heavy and frequent attacks resulting in severe casualties to his Force. He personally led an attack with great gallantry on the enemy who were holding a bridge, and succeeded in destroying four guns. Lieut. Col. Anderson throughout all this fighting, protected his wounded and refused to leave them. He obtained news by wireless of the enemy position and attempted to fight his way back through the eight miles of enemy occupied country. This proved to be impossible and the enemy were holding too strong a position for any attempt to be made to relieve him. On the 19th January, Lieut. Col. Anderson was ordered to destroy his equipment and make his way back as best he could round the enemy position. Throughout the fighting, which lasted for four days, he set a magnificent example of brave leadership, determination and outstanding courage. He not only showed fighting qualities of a very high order but throughout exposed himself to danger without any regard to his own personal safety.'
Date captured	1942-02-15	Became a prisoner of war when British forces in Malaya surrendered.
Other	1942-02-16	Reported missing in action.
Other units	1942-05-14	Attached to A Force.
Other	1942-05-27	Arrived in Burma.
Date released	1945-08-20	Reported Safe in Allied hands, Siam.
Date returned to Australia	1945-11-01
Date of discharge	1945-12-21	AIF appointment was terminated. Anderson transferred to the Reserve of Officers.
Other	1949	Elected to the House of Representatives as Country Party member for Hume in the general election. He was defeated in 1951, regained it in 1955 and retained it till 1961.
Other	1951	Anderson lost the seat of Hume in the general election.
Other	1955	Anderson regained his seat as Member for Hume in the House of Representatives in the general election.
Other	1961	Anderson lost the seat of Hume in the general election.
Date of death	1988-11-11	Canberra, ACT

Charles Anderson was born at Cape Town, South Africa, on 12 February 1897. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the King’s African Rifles on 13 October 1916 and fought with that regiment’s 3rd Battalion in East Africa against the German-led Askari. Anderson was awarded the Military Cross for his service in this campaign. Though he could not have known it at the time, Anderson’s experience in jungle warfare - rare for a First World War soldier - and his post-war experience as a big-game hunter prepared him well for commanding troops in the jungles of Malaya in the Second World War. He married Edith Tout in February 1931 and three years later, in 1934, the couple moved to Australia where Anderson had purchased a grazing property near Crowther in New South Wales. In March 1939 he joined the Citizen Military Forces, and was appointed captain in the 56th Battalion. He was promoted to major in late October that year and in July 1940 was seconded to the AIF. Appointed second-in-command of the 2/19th Battalion, part of the ill-fated 8th Division, he embarked for Malaya in February 1941. Anderson was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 August 1941 and took command of his battalion. Five months later Japan entered the war, invading Malaya and committing herself to war with Britain on the same day as her forces attacked the United States at Pearl Harbour. British Empire forces began a long series of withdrawals down the length of the Malayan peninsula. Within a month Japanese forces were in southern Malaya and Anderson’s unit was among those conducting defensive operations in the Muar area. He conducted a fighting withdrawal to Parit Sulong during which he and his men were cut off and suffered heavy casualties. Anderson led them through four days of heavy fighting in a bid to reach Allied lines. For his leadership, his protection of his own wounded men, and for repeatedly risking his own life Anderson was awarded the Victoria Cross. The fighting over, Anderson endured more than three years in Japanese captivity before returning to Australia. His appointment in the AIF was terminated on 21 December 1945 and Anderson returned to his property. He stood in the 1949 general election and won a seat in the House of Representatives as the Country Party member for Hume. He lost the seat in 1951, but regained it in 1955, remaining in office until 1961. Anderson and his wife had four children, all of whom were born in Australia. He moved to Red Hill in Canberra, having served as a member of the Joint Committee on the Australian Capital Territory. He died in Canberra on 11 November 1988.