Distinguished Conduct Medal : Lance Corporal C Grimson,1 Light Horse Regiment, AIF

Distinguished Conduct Medal (Geo V). Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

Born at Yullundry via Cumnock near Molong NSW in 1876, Charles Grimson first served as a Corporal with the 3rd NSW Mounted Rifles during the Boer War. A popular and well respected man in his home district, Charles was presented with a gold fob medal on his return with the inscription 'PRESENTED TO CORPORAL C. GRIMSON BY HIS CUMNOCK FRIENDS FOR HIS PATRIOTIC SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA 1902'. Soon after arriving back in Australia, Charles married Ethel Portia Robinson and took up farming in the Hornsby district, now a suburb of Sydney.
On 8 September 1914, barely 5 weeks after England entered the war in Europe, Grimson enlisted in the AIF (service number 582). Sporting a British Union Jack tattoo on his left arm and a 'Faith, Hope and Charity' tattoo on his right, Charles left no doubt as to where his loyalties lay. He was assigned to the 1st Light Horse Regiment (1LHR), which formed part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade, the first mounted formation dedicated to the war effort by Australia in the First World War. On 20 October 1914, the regiment embarked on HMAT A16 Star of Victoria, bound for the Middle East. In January 1915 Grimson was promoted to the rank of lance corporal. Initially, mounted units were considered unsuitable for the Gallipoli campaign, however, it was decided to deploy the Light Horse on the Peninsula without horses to reinforce the infantry. 1LHR left Alexandria on 9 May 1915 and landed at Gallipoli on the 12th. The regiment was deployed near Gabe Tepe, at Quinn's Post. Casualties began to mount over the coming days and in heavy fighting on the night of the 18th and 19th alone the regiment lost 11 men dead and 17 wounded. The enemy were faring no better and on 24 May an armistice was 'granted to the Turks from 7.30 am to 4.30 pm to bury their dead'. On the night of the 28 and 29 May, the Turks attacked Quinn's Post in earnest. During the fighting the Turks exploded a mine close to a section of Quinn's Post, causing it to cave in. The collapsed section also allowed the infiltration of enemy soldiers into the trench. Grimson scrambled over the rubble to confront the invading forces in the action that earned him the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation for the award reads: 'For conspicuous gallantry on the night of the 28th & 29th May, 1915, near Gaba Tepe (Dardenelles). Owing to the explosion of a mine which destroyed a portion of our parapet, the enemy was enabled to occupy a portion of our trenches, thus dividing the defending forces into two. Lance Corporal Grimson crawled over the broken ground towards the enemy, capturing successfully three Turks. He then, with the greatest courage, entered the remaining portion of the trench held by the enemy, about twelve in number, compelled them all to surrender, thus enabling the defending forces to reunite.' On 15 June 1915 Grimson was wounded in the foot and evacuated from Gallipoli. After hospitalisation in Egypt he returned to Australia in November 1915 and medically discharged. Charles Grimson was one of only two soldiers of 1LHR to be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. On his return home, Charles and Ethel renamed their Hornsby home 'Quinn's Post' after his experiences there, influenced by the notion perhaps that, as Captain William Sheppard of the 17th Battalion noted, the Gallipoli Peninsula bore a resemblance to the countryside around the Hornsby district. He was remembered again by his friends when another gold fob medal was 'PRESENTED TO CORPORAL C. GRIMSON DCM BY THE RESIDENTS OF CUMNOCK & DISTRICT AS A TOKEN OF ADMIRATION FOR HIS GALLANTRY AT THE DARDENELLES 40.4.1915.' Charles Grimson died on 20 October 1938, aged 62. His brother, Frederick Daniel Grimson, died of illness in April 1917 while serving in France. One of Charles' sons, Frank Robinson Grimson, served with 2/28 Battalion during the Second World War and was killed at El Alamein in November 1942.

• Queen's South Africa Medal : Corporal C Grimson, 3 NSW Mounted Rifles
• 1914-15 Star : Lance Corporal C Grimson, 1 Light Horse Regiment, AIF
• British War Medal 1914-20 : Lance Corporal C Grimson, 1 Light Horse Regiment, AIF
• Victory Medal : Lance Corporal C Grimson, 1 Light Horse Regiment, AIF