Charles William Soderblom

  General Notes:

In 1914 he was a blacksmith living with his parents at 255 Station St, Carlton. In 1918 when his mother died he and his father were both living in Siam (modern day Thailand) according to her death notice in the paper.

On the 13th January 1928 Charles arrived in Plymouth, England on board the Comorin. He had embarked from Melbourne, and travelled 1st Class. His intended address in London was listed as " C.B.I.A.C. 38 Bishopsgate St, London." His occupation was Mechanical Engineer and he was aged 36. His country of last permanent residence was listed as "England" and his country of intended permanent residence was listed as "Scotland".

On the 15th April 1931 he arrived in San Francisco, California on board the President Pierce. This vessel had sailed from Yokohama Japan to San Francisco. He was aged 39, Single, and a Tin Miner. He could read, speak English, his Nationality was Australian, and his "Race or People" was recorded as Swedish Scotch! He was travelling on a Visa which had been issued in Kobe, Japan on the 25th March 1931. His last permanent residence was reported as Melbourne, Australia.

Charles was interred in a civilian internment camp - Syme Road - in Singapore after the Japanese invaded in WW2. It is not known where he was living when he became a prisoner. This is where he met his wife, Norah. She was Latvian and her father had been the Latvian consul in Russia in 1917. So they fled Russia to China where she grew up in Shanghai. She then had to flee China in the WW2 but was caught by the Japanese and interned in Syme Rd civilian camp in Singapore.

After the war ended, they were released and, according to family legend, Charlie grabbed the large key to the internment camp gate as they were being marched out. Apparently Charlie weighed just 6 stone and, when he returned to Australia, he stayed with his brother Herbert and his wife at 7 Lodge Rd Hartwell. Charlie later returned to Asia and Norah met up with him in Kuala Lumpur. They married, returned to Australia and settled in Brisbane. They then moved to Phuket in the early 50's where he worked on a tin mine. This was during the Malayan emergency, so, once again, they found themselves in a war zone!

He was an engineer and spent a number of years in Malaysia working for a tin mining company and living in Ipoh.

By 1958 he and Norah were living at 45 Agnes St, Wynnum, Queensland, his occupation was recorded as a mechanical engineer.

  Noted events in his life were:

• He worked as a Blacksmith according to the Electoral Roll in 1914 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

• He resided at the time of the Electoral Roll in 1914 in 255 Station St, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.

Charles married Norah Elfreida Unknown.