Charles Stephen Lewington was the first born son of Charles Lewington, a house painter from London. After spending the first 21 years of his life with the family in England, Lewington set out on the first of his life’s great adventures, the journey to Australia, alone.
Landing in Sydney in early 1913 Charles found himself a job working as a grocer, then set about finding himself a football team. He first appears in team lists in the 1915 season playing up front with Granville reserves, a club then at the height of its powers having won the Rawson Cup the previous year and taking it out again during Charles’ first season with the club. His club mates included legendary NSW captain Bert Moore, the equally renowned Judy Masters, future Socceroos Billy Dane and Frank Mellior-Smith and the famous Johnny Cottam after whom the Rawson Cup would be renamed following his death serving in France in 1917.
Lewington enlisted at Holdsworthy at the end of the 1915 season and was assigned to the 5th Artillery Brigade, shipping out for the front eight weeks later. Arriving in France he was transferred from the 20th Battery to the 22nd. On the evening of August 23 in ‘Sausage Valley’ at Mont St Quentin near Peronne, Charles “under heavy and constant shellfire and in the face of the advancing infantry bring up the gun limbers and wagons” allowing the battery to get back into action from new positions. “His steadfastness and decisive decision making set an excellent example to his men and assisted in the battery’s success in holding their position.”
During that operation one driver was wounded, and Lewington along with another gunner set out to retrieve the injured soldier. Lewington’s second was seriously injured in the process, but Sergeant Lewington did successfully bring both men to safety. For his actions on that day Charles Lewington was awarded the Military Medal with Bar.
Charles Lewington returned home safely in 1919 and on March 6th 1920 he was finally presented with his medal for being a part of the winning Granville Reserves side for the 1915 season. Charles married in 1923 and lived the rest of his life with wife Mildred in Foster St West Ryde.
He lived well beyond most of his contemporaries, passing away at the age of 90 on May 17, 1982.