Charles Frederick Gitsham (SN 6028) was born in Ballarat where he attended the Urquhart Street State School. The young labourer was just 18 when he enlisted on March 18th 1916 with the consent of his father Louis. He trained with the 14th Depot Battalion in Ballarat and the 19th Depot Battalion at Geelong before embarking from Melbourne in July on board the Themistocles. On arrival in England, he joined the 8th Battalion as a reinforcement, before transferring to the 39th Battalion with which he moved to France in late November 1916. On June 8th 1917, at the age of 19, he was killed in action at Messines Ridge in Belgium. He was buried by comrades, but after the war his grave could not be identified, so he has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate at Ieper (Ypres), and, along with his brother James, on the grave of his father, Louis.

His brother James also served in the AIF and is honoured with a tree in the Avenue. He was killed in action in June 1918 while serving with the Royal Flying Corps.

Lucas’s Staffs Appreciation of Brave Men, the original Avenue register, records his name as Charles J. Gitsham